Nesting Instincts
by hdgcat
Summary: A Party,An Attack,Time Travel,Blood,Death,A Proposal,A New Life. Post book 8 with spoilers for all books,/A Vampwich Love Story
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Charlaine Harris owns everything, I own nothing, nada, zero, zip, zilch._

_I have no Beta so all mistakes are my own. If anything is confusing please let me know so I can clarify._

_Confession 1: This story was inspired by our illustrious fanfic diva FarDareisMai2 story "Bonds". Its a fun, fast paced romp with an ah climactic finale that I recommend highly. There are a couple minor similarities but the journey my characters go on is quite different from hers. I don't think I would have ever found the nerve to try writing my little stories without Bonds._

_Confession 2: I've been fiddling with this story for months. I don't think its ready but if I don't post it now I'll chicken out and it'll never see the light of day. ..er ...night. Sometimes you just have to take the plunge. I'm not sure my writing skills are adequate to expressing the story the way I want, but I guess we're all going to find out! LOL!_

_Lastly : This is a Vampwich story so there will be no Bill/Eric hate in this story. So if you're a hater(and you know who you are) ,the door is to your left. This story is rated M for sexual content in later chapters, but first Sookie and the gang need to figure out their nonsense a little._

_I_ _hope you enjoy the journey. On with the show!_

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Hunched tightly behind Eric, I gasped as the burning sensation kept spiking everytime one of my limbs became exposed. Eric was doing his best to shield me, but he was naked and couldn't make a move toward our antagonist without exposing me to the bright light that seemed to be filling the woods next to my home. I could barely keep my eyes open enough to see how this was affecting Eric who was bravely protecting me, but I could hear his low groaning which sounded like he was in pain as well. The weird part is I wasn't as scared as you'd imagine. Mostly, I was angry. It was just so unfair that I couldn't have a little fun for once without getting attacked by someone who had it in for me. So here I was crouched behind Eric thinking that my luck had finally run out. I'd survived Weres, witches, the fellowship, vampires, and run of the mill low lifes just so I could die here in the cemetery next to my house where all the Stackhouses are buried….gosh….how convenient. As everything started to go black, it suddenly occurred to me, that the last thing I was going to see on God's green earth was Eric's perfect ass.

At least God has a sense of humor.

SOME DAYS EARLIER …………………….

I don't know why I had allowed Amelia, my witchy roommate ,to talk me into throwing a last minute Halloween party. Yet here we were methodically filling out invitations, going over a supply list and a list of who to invite. Octavia had been invited to New Orleans that weekend for some major witches function. I had a feeling that Amelia having this party was a way to keep busy and not be disappointed about not being invited. The partywasn't going to be on Halloween proper since Amelia ,had some ceremony that she was invited to with some local witches here in Renard Parish . I made it a habit to not ask her too many questions about this. Amelia is a pretty straightforward person, so when she doesn't volunteer information, it's a good bet that its private. The other reason to not have it on Halloween itself was that I was working at Merlottes that night and it was also a full moon. Since Amelia is currently dating Tray Dawson a local mechanic and Were,attending would have been an issue for him. He's a terrific guy and I definitely wanted him there. I had also planned on inviting a few Weres and my shifter boss as well, so the night before Halloween was what we figured would work best. Amelia insisted on making it a costume party, although I had my doubts about this since finding costumes at the last minute could be a hassle for people (not to mention me).

So here we were filling out our invitations that Amelia had made herself. They were shaped like a cat and opened up with the information. I had noticed that they bore more than a slight resemblance to Bob the cat, but since I wasn't sure this was deliberate and Bob could still be a sore subject ,I let it go. I was also trying to figure out the financial split on this.

"Amelia"?

"mmmm"?

"Do you want me to go get this stuff this weekend or just give you the money for it '?

"Oh, I'll do it Sookie, don't worry about it "she said. "Once I've gotten everything, we'll go over the receipts and you can pay me back, okay"?

We had decided to stick to simple stuff like snackfood, veggie dips, maybe some easy hot snacks like pigs in blanket, hot apple cider, soda ,and beer. And True Blood of course, since I had decided to go ahead and invite a few vampires. Actually, now that I thought about it this was probably the largest group of people I'd ever invited to my home, so I was a little nervous whether anyone would come.

I actually had the day off so I decided now was as good a time as any to go hunt for a costume, plus I had a few errands to run ,so off to Shreveport I went . I had one invitation to hand deliver first. I put on a light jacket since it had taken to getting a little crisp at night as Autumn tends to do even though it was still nice during the day. Amelia bent over her lists, waving at me vaguely as I ran out the door grabbing my purse.

I had decided to invite my neighbor and former lover Bill Compton to the party. While we would never be the same as we had been when we were together, I had realized over the past couple months that I just didn't have the energy to hate someone forever. And I knew that a tiny part of me..a very very tiny part…missed him a little. I realized that Bill wasn't going anywhere and neither was I. Not to mention, Bill stood a pretty good chance of outliving me by centuries if he avoided pointy wooden objects. So I might as well make the best of it. I was bumping along our little side road that our houses stood off of in the darkening twilight figuring he'd be up soon. I parked the car and while I waited decided to call a few of my invitees and give them a heads up that I was sending invitations out. Calling Pam's cell I got her voice mail, so I left her a message and apologized for the lateness of the invitation and the fact that it was a costume party. At this point I saw Bill's front door open and he walked on to the porch. I got out of the car.

"Sookie, it's good to see you, is everything okay?" His thin pale face had a slight eagerness to it . Best to squash any misunderstandings right now.

"Everything is fine Bill, may I talk to you for a minute"?

"Of course, would you like to come in"? He held the front door open.

"No, I can only stay a few minutes, out here is fine' He gestured toward the rocking chairs on the porch and we sat down.

"Amelia and I are having a Halloween party and are inviting a bunch of different people. I wondered if you'd be interested in coming?" I held out one of the cat invitations and Bill took it, reading the print inside carefully.

"It's a costume party"?

"Yeah, I know its kind of last minute for finding a costume, I'm sorry about that"

"No, it'll be fine, I'm sure I'll think of something" He looked at me with his dark eyes shadowed in the overhead light of the porch. He seemed to want to say something, but looked down at the invitation again. "Thank you for inviting me, I appreciate it"

"It's no big thing Bill" I waved my hand casually, trying to display how not big this was, but he ignored me.

"No, Sookie , its a big deal to me. I know you've said that we will never be together again because of all that has happened, but I would really like to remain friends with you, if that's possible." He paused, glancing up at my face. I tried to keep a neutral expression. " I miss our friendship a great deal. Just being able to talk with you ….is very important to me. And I'd like to be a friend to you, I'd really like to have that again, if you'll permit it" He stopped after this little speech, checking to see how I was taking all this .

Unfortunately, I understood what he meant. After all the horrible events we had gone thru together and his betrayals ,which were partially his own stupid fault and partially just crappy vampire bullshit circumstances depending on what angle you viewed the situation from , I did miss him to a degree. I missed being able to just talk to him about whatever was going on in my life and sometimes about nothing at all. I missed being able to just pick up the phone and call him to ask a question without it being a big deal. Bill had been a wonderful listener and terrific at helping me sort thru the various details of my life when we were together. Finding out Queen Sophie had sent him to me deliberately had been the most devastating thing that had happened to me after my parent's death, Gran's murder and things I had gone thru with my Uncle Barlett when I was a kid. When I was with him I was more secure than I'd ever been in my life. And all that had been destroyed.

Missing my lover was tough, but in the end I missed my friend the most. Bill sat quietly while I rolled these thoughts around my head, another wonderful Bill trait. I sighed heavily.

"Bill, I would like to be friends with you. You're my neighbor and I've known you a while now. I'd rather we get along. If you understand that's all it will be and you're comfortable with that, then we can try ,okay?"

He gave me a very rare Bill Compton smile, obviously pleased with my little statement. "I think I can handle that'

Relieved with this hurdle being passed, I stood up to go, "Okay, I'll see you at my house then? "

"I'll be there with bells on" he said, still smiling at me.

I had to giggle a little at that. "Is that part of your costume? No! " I held up my hand. " I don't want to know. I want to be surprised"

"Very well Sookie, I'll see you then "He stood up and brushed my cheek with his cool lips. I went back to my car. That had gone well enough. I was pleased I had some type of situation settled with Bill. Maybe we could make it work, maybe not. But I'd offered him a shot at rebuilding a friendship with me, hopefully he was up to it.

As I pulled away, I checked my messages on my cell. Sure enough, there was a return message from Pam. She was nothing if not efficient. Eric wouldn't have her working for him if she wasn't. " Sookie my friend , I would love to accept your invitation to your party. I'll talk to Eric about getting the evening off. As to your concern about the costume, don't worry, I'll think of something "

As I drove to Shreveport I debated whether to stop at Fangtasia to give Pam her invitation and find out if she knew Rasul's address or could just give him my invitation. I had met the vampire Rasul in New Orleans working for Queen Sophie and he was one of the few to survive the takeover when his own sheriff had perished. Rasul had been one of the few vampires I'd ever met who was friendly and had a sense of humor, but I'd never spent any time around him and decided that a party full of people would be the safest way to do that. Not to mention I didn't want to give him the wrong idea. After all the events of the past year with the takeover and everything I concluded that it never hurts to have friendly vampires on your side.

Shreveport has a lot more shopping options than Bon Temps, so I checked out some of the department stores and party shops next to them. They were already starting to look a little picked over and I just couldn't find anything that appealed to me. I didn't want to look silly or sleazy and I was hoping I'd see a costume and go "ah ha"! , but that didn't happen. By the time I came out of the last store it was full dark and the street lights were casting their yellowish light over the street.

Since I hadn't eaten for hours I was hungry and stopped at a snack stand for a soft buttery salted pretzel with a large lemonade. The kid behind the counter gave me two pretzels in my bag and I pointed it out to him, but he said since they were closing soon it was two for one. What's a little more butter and salt, right? So I walked down the sidewalk munching my pretzels and sipping my drink. There were still people out shopping and some couples strolling along looking in store windows. Passing couples who are in the initial lovey dovey stages can be irksome when you're not with anyone. I tried not to think about my current manless state and focus on the positive things in my life. I had a decent job with a great boss who was also one of my best friends, a house and a car that were paid for and roommates helping pay the bills.

As happens when I'm trying to not think about men, Eric came to mind. I hadn't heard from him in months since the Nevada takeover and didn't really know where we stood. We had managed to not have our "talk" since he'd gotten his memories back from when he'd had amnesia and stayed at my home. While I had been forced to realize I had a definite affection for him that was not tied to the blood bond we shared , my feelings were still mixed and I really had no idea what he thought. In some ways I was hoping the issue would just disappear and on the other hand I desired resolution, so I could move on with my life.

Thinking these aggravating thoughts, I rounded a corner and almost choked on my pretzel when I realized the subject of said thoughts was standing in a lit up shop right in front of me. It was a men's clothiers, the type of shop that does custom suits and tailoring. I crept up to the window and peeked in.

Eric is one of those people that when you havn't seen him in a while you forget how beautiful he is. You can't not notice him when he walks into a room and its not just because he's almost 6 ½ ft tall. He has a bold face that would rival a model, long blond hair that springs from his head like a lion's mane, striking big round blue eyes and the body of a god. The only bad part is he knows it.

He was standing in front of a 3 way mirror wearing an obviously unfinished suit. There were 2 men fluttering around him with measuring tapes, checking figures and pulling the fabric this way and that. Even with the unhemmed pants and the structure stitching on the jacket, Eric still made the suit look amazing. Unfortunately, I'd forgotten about our stupid blood bond and sure enough, Eric swiveled around and fixed his brilliant blue eyes directly on me. He gestured for me to come in, so I pushed my way in the door, jingling the shopkeeper's bells.

Acting like he had just seen me yesterday, he waved his hand at his image in the mirror and said "What do you think Sookie"? It was a muted sage green pattern that set off his pale skin and blond hair beautifully. When it was finished it would probably make him look like the cover of Vampire GQ, if there were such a magazine. But for some reason I was feeling a bit shy, like he would know I had been thinking about him a few minutes before.

"It looks great Eric, really great "trying to sound excited. The older tailor said a few words to Eric in what sounded like Russian and Eric answered back in the same language. They toyed with the jacket for a minute, then the tailor took it off of Eric and went into the back with the other man. Eric turned toward me and walked over, wrapping his long arms around me burying his face into my hair.

"I've missed you," he murmured "And you smell wonderful by the way" .

It was hard to remember that I was really annoyed with him for ignoring me for months when my face was buried in his firm chest and the stupid bond was making me feel all warm and happy. God, I hated it.

"I've missed you too" I admitted," especially since I havn't heard from you in so long" I tried to keep the irritation out of my voice, but probably failed.

"You know I've been dealing with the new King and the repercussions from the takeover. You understand that don't you? Are you unhappy because we havn't had our talk'"? He spoke evenly and matter of factly.

I told myself I understood, but a part of me also asked why he didn't have 5 minutes in his day to call me and see how I was doing. But what I said was " Well, yeah, it just seemd like..you know …you wanted this …thing …between us to be resolved in some way and …then ..nothing".

His right hand tilted my chin up to look at him directly. He looked at me seriously and said "Sookie, we will reach an understanding, it just seemed that before you weren't that anxious to do so. " Okay, he had me there, I was the one who had initially dragged my feet on talking about our feelings and what our situation was with the blood bond thing etc, but now I just wanted to get it over with and move on. At that point the tailor came back in and asked Eric some more questions, pointing at the unhemmed trousers Eric was wearing. Eric made a few comments and went into the dressing room with him. "I'll be back in a moment "

He came back out dressed in his more usual jeans and Fangtasia t-shirt ,slipping a black denim jacket on as he walked out .

"Come, Sookie, lets go" He surprised me by holding out his hand, but I took it and we left the shop. This was a new trend, he'd held my hand when he took me to meet my fairy great grandfather Niall for the first time too.

It was weird walking down the street hand in hand with Eric. We looked like any other couple that we passed, perusing the windows that now appeared very bright against the dark night and murky street lights. I noticed admiring glances from other women occasionally directed at the towering Viking vampire and some annoyed jealous ones from their significant others walking next to them. Eric wasn't saying anything, just looking around, while lightly holding my hand as we strolled. I didn't know where we were going and I didn't know what to think or say, so I tried to take another bite of my remaining pretzel but was having trouble juggling that ,my purse on my arm and the drink.

'Here, let me help you" Eric reached over with his other hand and took the purse off my arm, draped it over his and took my drink ,so I could easily handle my snack. I figured the odds of my purse being snatched had just gone down substantially, so I let him. He didn't seem uncomfortable wearing a woman's purse on his arm.

"Sookie, what brings you to Shreveport this evening? I don't get the impression you planned on seeing me"

"Ah, no, I didn't. Amelia and I are throwing a Halloween party the day before Hallow's Eve and I'm running errands. I also need a costume and Shreveport has a better selection of stores than where I live. Which reminds me, do you think you could give something to Pam?"

"Of course, what is it "?

"An invitation, and do you know an address or phone number that I can contact Rasul? I thought I'd invite him too. Pam actually already called me back and said she could come if you would allow it".

"Why are you inviting Rasul"? his eyes narrowed slightly as he asked, "What contact have you had with him"? Just what I needed, some possessive vampire crap from a vampire I hadn't seen in months.

"Eric, its not like that, I met Rasul when he was with Sophie-Anne in New Orleans and he's always been nice to me. I have no intention of getting involved with him, but I want to remain friendly and inviting him to a party with a lot of other people there seemed to be the best way to do this, okay"? I watched his face closely as he absorbed this information. It was irritating that he seemed to feel like I had to answer to him, but in the case of Rasul I could kind of understand since Rasul was his underling.

"Am I invited too"?

Actually,it hadn't occurred to me that Eric would be interested in coming to my party. I just figured he'd see it as beneath his interest in some way, especially since there would be Weres and Witches there.

"Sure you can come, I …ah…didn't think you'd be interested though. Who's going to watch Fangtasia"?

"Clancy and Felicia can do it for one night, Halloween night is a different story. We all need to be there then. "

"Um, Eric, just realize this is a costume party and there will probably be some Were's, shifters,and witches there. Are you okay with that? "

Eric stopped and looked down at me with astonishment written on his face . "Let me get this straight, are you worried I'm going to come to a party in your home and be rude to your other guests"??

Actually, that was exactly what I was worried about. "Eric, you've made your feelings about Weres pretty clear and after your previous dealings with Witches ..well.. let's just say I'm concerned "

His mouth quirked a bit around the edges and he shook his head at me. "Sookie, give me some credit, I know how to behave at a party. I run a nightclub that all kinds of people frequent remember?"

I sighed, "Okay, here let me give you an invitation and you can give one to Pam and Rasul too" . We sat down on a park bench and I reached for my purse. I handed him 3 of the cat invitations. He gave them an amused look then slipped them into his jacket pocket.

"Is there any type of theme to this costume party "? He asked.

"Um, no,whatever you like ,you know ,someone famous, something iconic , some type of character ,anything you want really . It's pretty casual, we'll have snacks and we'll have Trueblood there." I polished off the remaining pretzel and took another sip of my drink.

He slid his arm around me and leaned in close which definitely got my heart thumping a little faster." How about we get our situation resolved as well and have our talk that night"?

"Eric, I'm having a party to have fun with my friends, not agonize over the past with you, why can't we do it some other time"?

"No, Sookie, we need to come to some type of an understanding, how about after your guests leave, we have a talk, just talk, I promise. Then you can stop looking at me with dread everytime I see you. Won't that make everything easier?" He said all this in a very calm, practical sounding voice without the pushy commanding element that he'd used in the past that usually ended up with me losing my temper, yelling back at him, and then pointing my finger at him which he hated.

Since he was being so reasonable, I thought about it. He was right, I was tired of having too many unknowns hanging over me and even if we ended up coming to an unpleasant conclusion, at least it would be resolved one way or the other. I'd taken a big step to moving on with the Bill situation maybe now Eric and I could find some sort of "normal" whatever that would be. Stability is what I craved at this point. "Okay, we'll talk, just talk, you understand? After the party please, I want no mention of this during, okay?

"I understand" he replied, "thank you lover". He said it with that soft rumble, like a far off thunderstorm and my spine tingled just a bit. I had a feeling that "just talking" was going to be difficult for me.

" Sookie , now I have to get to work ,Pam's probably wondering what's keeping me and I bet that's her right now". He said as he looked down at his cell phone's little glowing face. He stood up, his tall form beautifully framed by the street lights. "Would you like me to walk you to your car?" It was nice of him to ask and not the sort of thing he usually would have done in the past.

" No ,Eric I'm parked in the garage across the street ,the one attached to the shopping center , I'll be fine, thanks " He bent and gave me one of those light butterfly kisses as only he could ,then as we both started to go our separate ways, I looked back " Eric are you going to be okay finding a costume? I know its kind of last minute. "

Eric looked back at me and smiled,"Oh, don't worry Sookie, I'll think of something".

Considering this was Eric, I should have known better.

**********************************************

The day before the party, I finally had some luck. While dropping off books at the library and getting ready to go to the grocery store for some last minute items I ran into an old friend of my Grandmother's. Her name is Betty Jackson and she and Gran went way back to a stone's age. They were both members of the Descendents of the Glorious Dead and she was setting up some type of display at the library when I ran into her. I stopped and helped her carry some large plastic totes and boxes into the library. Turns out they were going to display some historical Civil War era clothing in the library, but that wasn't the best part. They were going to have some meetings and parties there with reenactors wearing historically accurate costumes. So guess who got to borrow a complete outfit provided it came back in good condition and clean? I was pleased as punch .

I raced home to show Amelia. "Hey Amelia"! I called out when I came in the back door ,letting the screen slam behind me. She came in from the living room where she had been rearranging furniture and hanging decorations and lights all day. Martha Stewart has nothing on Amelia when she decides to throw a party, she's goes all out.

" Hey Sook! What's up? Did you get the stuff on my list"?

"Yes I did, but even better than that , I got a costume"! I was practically gleeful. You'd think I'd won the lottery or something.

"Well, don't just stand there, show me"!

I held the large box in front of me like it was fragile. I had been a little nervous since Betty had trusted me with this authentic costume and I didn't want it to get messed up. I had read from her mind how much money and trouble was involved in getting one of these made and I was grateful she thought well enough of me and was missing my Gran to the point that she would allow me to borrow it. She'd also made me promise to give her a photograph of me wearing it, which was kind of sweet actually.

"In my bedroom Amelia, I want to lay it out on the bed and look at it,in case I need to get any wrinkles out". We trooped to my room and I opened the box. The box and the tissue paper in it was acid free for storing fabric without turning it yellow.

Amelia peered over my shoulder as I carefully laid the authentic , according to Betty, Civil War era dress and undergarments. It was brown with small checks and had a white detachable collar and sleeves which were typical. Amelia pulled out the corset, petticoats and other underwear.

"Sookie, this is amazing, is it authentic"?

I explained my fabulous luck with the dress. " It's a reenactors outfit Amelia , so its historically accurate as far as the materials and how its put together with the button and the hooks , but obviously made for a modern day sized person"

"Well yeah, I've seen outfits in museums from that time period and the women are so tiny"!

" Fabric doesn't survive time very well anyway and I would never wear something historical to a party . I'd be scared something would happen to it. Betty actually showed me a couple gorgeous party dresses,like the ones you see in Gone With the Wind ? " Amelia nodded. " They were amazing I would have loved to have worn one, but they're made of real silk and all I could think of was someone spilling a beer on me , so I decided to go with a typical "daydress" like what women wore around the house"

Amelia laughed at that "You've got a point Sookie and this dress being brown won't show soil so much,so you're pretty safe. It would have been cool to see you in one of those fancy ballgowns though with the big hoops"!

"Hey, you never know , maybe someday"! I chortled back.

Amelia and I kept examining the various parts to the outfit ,rustling thru the paper, there were even instructions on how to wear and clean the outfit correctly. I was so pleased with it , and I was a little sad too as I thought that my Gran would have been so happy to have seen me in it " As if she was reading my mind Amelia spoke up " Your Gran was really into this time period right? She would have been stoked "!

Then she caught the expression on my face and for once tactfully changed the subject. "Are you going to need my help putting all this stuff on ? The corset has to be tied and secured from the back, so we can get it to fit you properly. And what's this"? She held up a long filmy cotton dress with no sleeves to speak of that would go down to my knees.

"It's a chemise, it's basically underwear , it goes on first against your skin, then your drawers go under that to cover your legs" I took that out.

"Sookie! It's crotchless'!? she exclaimed .

"Well, I guess it made it easier to go to the outhouse or bathroom outside, whatever, but I'll be wearing my panties underneath, so there" I spoke firmly to get the slightly risqué thoughts I was hearing out of Amelia's head. Sometimes her being such a clear broadcaster was such a bother. "Anyway, the corset goes on over that, then the crinoline which is a sort of relaxed hoop skirt. It's made with linen tape or something instead of bone hoops like on the fancier dresses. Then the first petticoat skirt goes over that and then a second petticoat goes over THAT and then finally the dress itself " I was amazed that I remembered so much of what Betty had told me , but also I was remembering stuff I'd overheard over the years from Gran having her fellow descendents over for iced tea and sandwiches.

"And then we have the stockings and boots "I pulled them out with a flourish.

"Sookie, I just realized this dress is made of wool isn't it? Will you be comfortable the whole party"?

"Well, we're having it at night , and its been pretty cool, plus with the doors opening and closing from smokers going in and out , I'm not too concerned"

"It's great Sookie, I'll help you get into it tomorrow before the party. Now I need your help finishing the lights and getting the rest of the snacks ready , so we don 't have to rush tomorrow. Were you able to find everything at the store "?

"Yes, I followed your list, to the letter" I let only a hint of sarcasm creep into my voice. I was in too good of a mood as we made our way out the backdoor and took some more bags from the car.

I realized I was actually looking forward to the party. We'd gotten a really good response to the invitations. When I was a kid, I'd gone to some parties and sleepovers etc, but not many. My reputation as "crazy Sookie" had kept me from being part of the popular crowd and I'd kept close to my few friends in high school. Now that I was older and hanging around supes a lot , who valued me for the exact same reason humans thought I was so strange, things were different. Plus supes were relaxing to me, for the most part, when they weren't getting me in the middle of skirmishes, minor wars, takeovers etc. It felt nice to realize I'd managed to develop friendships in my adulthood which when I was younger seemed like a far off dream . Not the fake kind you have in high school where you're trying to keep up a certain reputation, but the real kind. The kind that come and help you out when you're in trouble and accept you the way you are. The fact that most of these friends drank blood or turned into animals at the full moon was a minor detail in my book. No one is perfect. If we expect our friends to always be what we want them to be instead of who they are, we're doomed to disappointment. I'd learned that the hard way. Always count your blessings my Gran used to say.

Amelia and I zipped around the kitchen chopping vegetables for the dips and getting the crockpots out. I'd had the idea of keeping the Truebloods in a crockpot with water in it so they would stay warm, rather than having the microwave going constantly during the party. I'd borrowed a second one for the hot apple cider as well. Setting bowls out with their respective bags of chips waiting to be opened, making room in the fridge , and rearranging the furniture took the better part of the afternoon. I left for work at Merlottes leaving Amelia to finish up the pre-party cleaning. Having a clean freak for a roommate is great; but I was worried that when she eventually moved out I would let the house turn into a pigsty from getting lazy about cleaning it myself

Pulling into Merlotte's parking lot I realized I'd left my purse in the trunk of the car. When I opened it I noticed I'd forgotten one bag of groceries from a specialty store Amelia had sent me to, because there's always last minute things to buy when you're getting ready for a party. Giving her a quick call from my cell seemed prudent in case she needed any of these things before tomorrow.

She picked up on the second ring. "Hello"?

"Hey Amelia, it's me, I just realized I left that bag from Joseph's Natural Foods in the trunk. Do you need that now, or can I just bring it back later tonight'? I asked.

"Actually, Sookie I don't think I'll need any of those items like I thought. We really have enough food I think. And that bag of organic coffee I had you buy, well I've got some here and it should be enough. I was thinking I needed coffee for everyone, but of course I don't "! She laughed at this.

"Well, the vamps don't drink coffee, but the Weres do" I replied.

"Tray was telling me the night before a full moon they're all so excited and pumped up anyway, none of them will be drinking coffee, they don't need it"!

"Well, we could just take the coffee back" I said. The coffee had been pretty expensive, I thought.

"Oh, no that's fine Sookie, the coffee will get drunk eventually. It was on special you know" I hadn't even noticed that. All I'd noticed was it was much more expensive than the regular stuff I bought.

"Okay, I just wanted to make sure" I said. "I'll see you tomorrow morning, roomie"

"bye Sookie"

I went into Merlottes to start my night. I was in a good mood , so I avoided speaking to Arlene or having to stand near her. Since she'd gotten involved with these Fellowship of the Sun guys, she was unbearably bigoted and nasty. I didn't need anything negative ruining my nice little vibe. Sam gave me his usual big smile and asked about the party preparations.

"Amelia is at home doing her imitation of a cleaning whirlwind as we speak' I said " and all the food , decorations and everything is pretty much set up".

"What time do you need me there"? he asked . Sam had offered to bring ice from Merlottes big commercial ice maker which was great and had given us a good deal on a small keg of beer instead of us buying the more expensive bottles and cans.

"Oh, about an hour ahead would be fine, so we can set everything up" I replied. " Do you know what you're coming as yet"?

Sam looked at me a little shyly which I had to admit was kind of cute "I'm going to be the scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz. I don't know why , but I've always liked that guy. "Its pretty easy to find all the stuff for it and I wanted to be comfortable".

"Oh Sam, that sounds great, I can't wait to see it'! It made perfect sense he would identify with scarecrow, especially since he was such a good guy, just like him. I beamed at my boss, trying to picture it, yep not that hard. I went back to my customers and Sam back to his office.

The evening sped along nicely for once and before you know it I was on my way home again, pondering the party the next night. I was as excited as a kid before Christmas. It was silly really, but I wanted everything to go well and everyone to have a good time, especially me. Hopefully, the Weres and Vampires would all decide to get along for one evening and I would like some of Amelia's fellow witches she had invited.

Walking into my house, I checked all the preparations and noted a big tub out for Bobbing for Apples. Corny I know, but Amelia had insisted. There were big pumpkin Jack o lanterns waiting to be lit with big crazy grins. I could still smell the fresh cut pumpkin. I was surprised that Amelia was into some of the "sillier" aspects of Halloween given her being a witch and all , but she had explained that she had no problem making a clear separation between her personal beliefs and the "secular' fun aspects of the holiday. Kind of like Jews and Christians all having Christmas trees even though Christmas trees are actually Pagan. I also noticed she had put up the Bela Lugosi poster which I was nervous about. He was in a fang posturing mode and she had cut out the fangs part and set it up like a Pin the Fangs on the Vampire kind of game. Amelia and I had argued about this since I didn't want the vampires to walk in and be offended plus I thought it was stupid. Amelia had said that once people had a few beers it would be a hoot. And she was going to cast a "minor" spell around it to confuse the blindfolded players. This made me very nervous given Amelia's previous history. Then Amelia had finally won the argument by calling Pam. Pam had said she wouldn't be offended as long as she could play the game, so that was that. I turned out all the lights and went to bed, anticipating tomorrow.

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The next morning, I bounced out of bed slipping on my robe and slippers I went to the kitchen and found that a nun had invaded my house. Not a nun actually, Amelia dressed like a nun and not just a plain nun,no sirree bob , but with the whole flying nun headdress on her head. She had told me what she was going to be, but I had to giggle at the thought of my witch roommate of the flexible sexual persuasion dressed as a nun. I wondered what her Dad would think.

"Amelia, you look……amazing…..I think" I choked a little from laughing .

She gave a little twirl for me and said "Isn't it great? I can't wait for Tray to get here. He's taking me on the back of his motorcycle. We're going to ride around a little this afternoon and give the good townspeople some shaking up"! Did I mention that Tray was dressing as a biker? Not a big stretch since he runs a motorcycle repair shop, but why not use what you have I guess. I shook my head in amusement at the visual I was getting and settled down for my coffee and toast.

"Don't worry "she said , "I'll be back in plenty of time to help you get into your dress and the 50lbs of underwear you'll be wearing"

"Ha ha" I replied "We'll see after you've been running around in that habit all day and I think the skirts only weigh about 20lbs not 50"

Later that afternoon, she came back with Tray regaling me with funny stories of all the looks they had gotten while riding around town. Tray helped us finish the setting up and we had everything ready . Once Sam got here with the keg and the ice to dump into the tubs holding the soda, we'd be all set. But first, into my dress , which was an adventure in itself.

The drawers and chemise were easy , but Amelia had to help me with the corset. "This isn't Gone With the Wind "I warned. "Don't try and crush me okay'?

She kept tightening and pulling her way up the corset and I kept my arms up somewhat during the process. Then I stepped into the crinoline hoop skirt. She tied that for me in the back and then we pulled on the petticoat skirts. I was beginning to realize that her joke of 50lbs of underwear wasn't that far off.

"Maybe you were right Amelia, this is a lot to wear" I spoke slowly and carefully, like I would damage the corset if I spoke too loud or something. She helped put the dress over my head and I buttoned it up, straightened the lace collar and sleeves.

"Sookie , you look great"! she exclaimed.

I turned around and looked into the mirror . Even barefoot it did look amazing. Now I understood why all the undergarments. Without those the dress would never had hung off me the way it did. The snugness of the corset and the top combined with the fullness of the skirt which seemed to float away from me as I moved and made my waist seem really small. The stockings and boots finished the outfit. Since I can't do anything with my hair more complicated than a pony tail , Amelia helped me get it fixed properly. We had some old photos in a book to work off of. We parted my hair down the middle very flat then rolled the ends in the back to each side and actually used an old hairnet of Grans to secure it since I didn't want hairpins sticking me in the head all night. An old hairclip made from real bone and inherited from my Gran's Grandmother ,slid across the back holding the hairnet in place. I didn't own any jewelry that was appropriate and adding a lot of makeup didn't seem right, so I dabbed on a touch of blush and lip gloss and left it at that.

The nun and I looked at ourselves in the mirror. Amelia looked very approving. " Not bad Sookie, not bad at all. 'We look like we're ready for a church social." We both giggled at that ." How's all that weight feel"?

I walked around a little. I wouldn't have been surprised if the skirts alone DID weigh around 20lbs, there was so much there, but moving wasn't that hard. "It feels okay, and I think I'm ready for a party" I said, giving her a grin.

At that moment Sam's voice echoed from down the hall "Hey, y'all in here"? We scampered out to the backdoor to help Sam bring the ice and beer inside. He started laughing when he saw Amelia, but he stopped abruptly when he saw me. "Sookie! You look great! It's like you just stepped out of one of those old Civil War photos I swear" He smiled at me ,looking me up and down , then noticed me looking back. "What do you think "? He said, as he turned around. He looked just like the scarecrow with the hat and everything. There was even straw sticking out of his front.

I smiled at him. "It's perfect Sam" and gave him a hug. Amelia cleared her throat and said "hey, beer getting warm here"! We laughed and started lugging everything inside. Sam and Tray greeted each other and we hung out waiting for our other guests. I felt excited and happy. It was going to be a terrific night, I just knew it.

It's amazing how fast a house can fill up. The light was dimming outside with the sky all orange and pink glowing with the aftermath of a beautiful day when the first guests started arriving. Alcide and some of his fellow pack members arrived early. He had warned me they probably wouldn't stay that late since they'd all want to spend at least part of the night changed into their wolf form since the moon was almost full. They had all dressed as 1930's gangsters which seemed appropriate, but I didn't tell Alcide that. He looked very slick and smooth since his normally out of control hair was hidden by a gray fedora that matched his gray striped suit. His carefully knotted tie was green which matched his eyes. Not that I noticed.

"Sookie"! He exclaimed "You look just like one of those old photographs" ! I had a feeling I was going to get tired of hearing that this evening. We walked back to the keg to get a couple beers, me included, hey it's my party gosh darn it. Why not since I'm not going to drive right? We stood back there for a couple minutes chatting about our respective costumes while Amelia was letting in some of her witchy friends. You could tell when they opened the door and saw her because they all just started cracking up.

It suddenly occurred to me that everyone who was coming to this party was a supe or was involved in that world. I had invited my good friend Tara and her husband JB, but they were away this weekend and Hoyt had said he probably couldn't stop by either since he had forgotten what weekend this was and promised to drive his mother to see her elderly aunt who was ailing. The good part of all this I guess was that no one would have to hide what they were for the evening. Trying to see the silver lining, that's me.

I hadn't invited my brother since I still wasn't speaking to him and I didn't know when I ever would. Reminding myself that I had good friends didn't help the pain of being estranged from the only close family I had left. Once again, I reminded myself that I hadn't done anything wrong and to appreciate what God had given me. I was doing that a lot lately.

Amelia was trying to introduce the Weres and Witches to each other which was getting more and more absurd since she was a couple beers ahead of me and her Nun's headdress was sliding a bit. So, when I heard a knock at the door, I went to get it. Claudine was there and looking very …flowery…and when I mean flowery as in a giant flower. Her cheerful face was surrounded by large silky yellow petals and her body and arms were encased in some sort of green spandex material which I assume was the stem and leaves.

"Hello cousin!" she said. Claudine could be cheerful no matter what. It was either uplifting or creepy depending on your point of view. I was a bit concerned as I let her in. I had let her know about the party out of duty, but hadn't expected her to come since I was inviting vampires. Since the vampires would tend to see Claudine as part of the food selection it had seemed prudent that she not attend.

"Ah, Claudine, I'm sort of surprised to see you here" I didn't want to be inhospitable. My Gran would roll in her grave, but then she probably had never had to worry about her guests eating the other guests.

"Oh, don't worry Sookie, I won't be staying too long since I have to help Claude at the club tonight. But I can stay for a little while since Niall's scientists have come up with something really nifty"! I was relieved and curious as to what she was talking about. Seriously, Claudine could probably sell steak knives on tv if she wanted to. Then suddenly, her arm whipped out, I heard the sound of a spray can and was engulfed in a cloud of chemicals.

"Claudine! What are you trying to do, poison me? " As I coughed and gagged. A few of the other guests looked over to see if I was alright. This was even worse than the perfume Ninja women that the department stores hired.

"You know what? I didn't think about whether this was safe for humans". Watching a six foot tall flower get a perplexed expression would have been very funny if I hadn't been worried about getting brain cancer that very second. She started reading the instruction on the back, then said "You're okay Sookie! It's safe for humans in small doses". Oh yeah, like that's supposed to reassure me. I started catching my breath and sipped the last of my beer down to clear my throat. Then her cell started ringing. She put it to her petal/ear immediately "Hey Claude! I'm at Sookie's for a bit. Pause. Can't you wait a bit? Pause. Alright, I'll be there" She put it away with disappointment. "I'm sorry cousin, I have to go, Claude is having a meltdown about something".

"Wait a minute Claudine! What was it you just sprayed me with"? I demanded.

"Sorry! I forgot to tell you didn't I? It's a spray to cover scent so completely it'll even hide it from vampires and Weres. Pretty cool huh?" she waved her leafy arms at me while explaining and walking away. "It was good seeing you cousin, next time we'll get together just us girls. Have fun tonight"! And the giant flower jumped into her car and drove off.

It was time for another beer.

Glancing around my house which was actually filling up a bit, I was glad I had cleaned my room and bathroom up so we'd have two bathrooms for the guests to use. I saw a couple more Were's from Alcide's pack dressed as bikers . There was a witch dressed as a flapper getting her picture taken with Alcide since they had dressed the same time period. There was a butterfly, a princess, a hobo, a nerd, and a whore, although from what I glimpsed in her head this character wasn't a stretch for her. There was also this extremely perky blond woman dressed as a cheerleader, her name was Tiffany. I could have sworn she came in with the nerd, but she was busy chatting up one of the biker Were's. Hopefully, there wouldn't be any trouble.

There was another knock at the door, so I went to get it chewing on a pigs in blanket as I went. Now that it was full dark, I wasn't surprised to see the vampires arriving. I was surprised by their costumes which is stupid right? I did tell them it was a costume party.

Rasul was dressed as Zorro and I must say, with his coloring, made a very good one. He removed his hat, bowed to me with a sweep of his cape, handed me a red rose and said with a pretty decent Spanish accent "Good evening Miz Stackhouse. You are a vision this evening".

I had to laugh and it wasn't just the beer. The accent he was doing reminded me so much of the new King, and knowing the vampires, it was entirely intentional. I curtsied and accepted the rose. "Please come in" I said, since I knew Rasul had never been to my home, he had to be invited across the threshold.

Pam came in behind him and I was immediately glad Claudine had left. She would not have appreciated Pam's costume. Pam was dressed as a fairy. A sparkling, gorgeous fairy with whispery white fabric billowing around her legs and arms, she shone as she stepped into my living room. Her blond hair was up in what I would call a Grecian Goddess style with loose curls cascading back down around her face. She had a fitted bodice that seemed to have silky metallic embroidery of every color in the rainbow. It was dazzling and amazing. She even had gotten outfitted with pointed ears. I stood there and gawked.

"Pam, where on earth did you get that? Its' beautiful"! I exclaimed. A couple of other women came over to look and murmured their admiration. Pam preened and spun a little to catch the light.

"You like it Sookie? I had a seamstress do the basic outfit, but I did the embroidery myself" she said smugly. "You look nice too by the way".

I remembered coming home from the Were war to find Amelia and Pam in my kitchen and Pam had been stitching up a storm. I guess if you're a 19th century woman, being able to sew is not something you get to choose.

"It's fantastic Pam, truly" I hoped she heard that my admiration was sincere. It almost hurt your eyes to look at her chest, not that I was staring, but the colors! I felt like a little starling standing next to a peacock. Amelia ran over and exclaimed all over Pam again. Pam was definitely enjoying the attention. I pointed Rasul towards the kitchen so he could help himself to a Trueblood and checked around the room to make sure everyone had what they needed.

I wasn't having too much trouble holding up my shields since I was relaxed I guess. And it helps when the people around you are not stressed and everyone is happily buzzing along. It's easier to ignore. There was another knock at the door. I opened it to find Sherlock Holmes on my porch.

"Bill"! I probably sounded a little overexcited due to the beers I'd had. He had the coat with the deerstalker cap and appeared to be wearing a dark suit underneath. He looked perfect. I suddenly realized he was staring at me like a deer in headlights. "Bill"! I repeated while I waved my hand in front of his face.

He shook himself a little, took my waving hand in his and kissed it gently. "You look lovely Sookie". If anyone could appreciate what I was wearing it was Bill. I kept waiting for him to say that I looked like the old photographs like everyone else had, but he didn't. Stepping inside, a change came over his face and he leaned back towards me again. "Sookie"?

"What Bill"?

"Why can't I smell you"?

It was hard not to laugh at the way his nose was squelching trying to catch my scent and the way his eyes were getting wider by the second, especially combined with his usual serious expression. I giggled a little.

"My fairy cousin Claudine sprayed me with some experimental scent cover up, without asking my permission I might add. Are you serious though? You can't smell me at all"?

"No" he replied with a serious tone. He didn't' like that he couldn't smell me since I know that he had enjoyed that element of our relationship greatly. Vampires have extraordinary senses, but their sense of smell is paramount and second only to Weres in tracking ability.

"Well, I'm sure it'll wear off or it'll come off when I shower later". I said. I hoped it would come off. It wasn't like I'd had a chance to ask Miss Speedy Flower Gonzalez before she took off. I made a mental note to call her later and ask, otherwise I'd have to call Niall and I hated to bug him over something this silly.

Motioning Bill to follow me, we wound our way thru the warm bodies in my living room and into the kitchen. One of the Were's lifted his beer cup up and yelled "Hey Sherlock! Where's Watson"? then started laughing uproariously. I rolled my eyes at Bill who gave me a rueful smile in reply. Bill pulled a warm Trueblood out of the crockpot (good idea Sookie, he said) and I grabbed a few more pigs in blanket. Somehow, we made our way out the back door and ended up on the lawn next to the back porch.

"So, Sherlock Holmes huh"? I said, looking over my cup at him.

"I was always a big fan of the stories even when they first came out in various periodicals. They were popular even before they were put down in book form. They were so different for the time and Holmes ways of figuring out crimes was fascinating to me" Bill explained as he took a sip of his Trueblood.

I had to admit, this made perfect sense to me. Bill liked figuring stuff out which is why he'd been such a good investigator for Area 5. It was also why he'd been able to learn computers so quickly at the ripe old age of 175 years. He enjoyed analytical challenges and he remembered everything he saw. The parallel to Sherlock Holmes wasn't difficult to see.

We stood in silence for a moment in the cool night air. It was a relief since the house was getting a little warm with all the bodies and a lot of them being shifters and Weres who tended to run hot anyway.

"Sookie"?

"Yes"?

"Could you do me a favor"? Bill asked. He had an expression on his face I hadn't seen in a long time.

"That depends on what it is Bill"

"Would you mind" he paused delicately "Would you mind lifting your skirt a little, so I can see your petticoat underneath"?

I snorted a little at that, was he serious? Of course he was serious, this was Bill we're talking about here. If I hadn't had a couple beers and been in a totally relaxed mood I probably would have marched back into the house. But instead, I figured what's it going to hurt?

I grasped the skirt and pulled it up slowly about six inches, revealing the white petticoats with their lace trim underneath, my boots and woolen stockings. Not very exciting stuff in this day and age right?

Wrong.

Bill's face was completely captivated as he gazed down at my ankle region and I was flabbergasted to see that his fangs were slowly inching down as his upper lip pulled back to reveal them. His dark brown eyes shifted back up to my face as he said " Sookie, is that costume authentic"?

I flushed a little since I knew what he was referring to. Of course he'd know about the drawers wouldn't he? It was absurd. He'd seen me in skimpier things than this, he'd seen me naked and pretty much accessed every inch of me with his fingers, fangs, and tongue. I couldn't believe he was getting so worked up over a few inches of lace and woolen stockings.

I started to come back with a smart aleck reply when I picked up sudden shock coming from the house and we heard some screams!

Bill's head whipped around, he dropped his Trueblood and rushed into the house at vampire speed with me chugging along behind him clutching my 20lbs of skirt. I couldn't believe it. What NOW?!

I ran into the living room and bumped into Bill's back thinking I'd find a vamp/Were war going on, witches turning everyone into toads, evil fairies, the nerd and the biker fighting over the cheerleader, something. But everyone was standing and staring in silence at the front door.

Eric had arrived.

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_Next Chapter: The party rolls along , a talk, and an attack_

_A/N : I'm curious as to the guesses for Eric's costume. It's one of the reasons I decided to start the story with the party . Hint: he's not a Viking._


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N As always Charlaine Harris owns everything, I own nothing, nada,zero, zip, zilch_

_I have no Beta so all mistakes are my own, please let me know if something confuses you and I'll try to clarify it_

_The story is going to make a major transition in this chapter. But its part of Sookie's journey and I hope you're all going to enjoy it. _

_Thanks so much for taking the time to read and review my story, I am grateful for every one. _

_Now, lets see what Eric's costume is............._

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Oh, yes he'd arrived alright. I was looking at him over several other people and Bill so at first I couldn't see all of him. Then I realized I COULD see all of him and I mean that almost literally.

He was naked, or as close as you could get without being arrested,

on a beach

in Brazil.

Apparently, he was attempting to emulate Adam from the Bible before he was kicked out of the Garden of Eden. But since fig leaves are probably not plentiful where we live, and there are no leaves available that would cover the Gracious Plenty by themselves, he'd improvised and was wearing what could only be described as a little "bush" on his crotch region.

Everyone in the room was standing there dumbfounded looking at him, than Amelia's voice rang out from the other side of the room,

"Thanks for coming Eric, nice of you to dress up".

That got people laughing and everyone shuffled around a bit trying to act like they weren't staring. The Weres of course are used to nudity and the vampires are completely inurred to it as well. The Witches I'm sure have their own feelings on the matter.

But I am neither a Were or a vampire and I was steaming. I could feel my face all hot and not in a passionate way either like it normally would be in Eric's naked presence. Oh, he was SO going to hear about this.

Pam fluttered over to him and said "Welcome, Eric or Adam I presume"?

Eric gazed down at his Child with approval and made a twirling motion with his hand. Pam immediately obliged. "Pam you look so realistic, I want to drain you and tear your body to pieces" (this got a few "acks" from the innocent bystanders). But Pam was pleased with his comment and beamed up at her Maker. Oh geez.

I needed another drink.

Once I got back into the kitchen, which had been temporarily deserted during all this, I realized I was going to have to cut myself off. Eric never did anything without oh…say…five or six different reasons and since we had planned on talking after the party ….hmmm. Maybe he figured if I was mesmerized by his gorgeous physical self then he'd be able to get me to agree to whatever it was he was going to bring up. Call me suspicious, but this WAS Eric we're talking about.

I went to one of the crockpots and ladled out some warm apple cider and grabbed a couple more pigs in blankets. This way I'd be operating on all cylinders by the time the party ended.

I peeked my head out to see what was going on in the living room. Amelia had started the Pin the Fangs on the Vampire game which, much to my relief seemed to be going well. A couple of the Weres, Witches, and Rasul were gathered around Pam, who apparently couldn't wait to be blindfolded taking her shot. There were some sparkling lights above her head. It seemed like Amelia's spell was supposed to confuse and disorient the player. Pam seemed to be concentrating really hard and the ones watching were being very quiet, I guess so as to not give her a hint as to Bela's location. She got it on the first try, and they all started clapping. Amelia shook her head and said something about not having designed the spell for vampires. Speaking of, I noticed Bill appeared to be speaking to the princess near the fireplace and Eric was talking to the whore while observing the game.

Sometimes things just make sense.

I ducked back into the kitchen. Hey, it's my party I can hide if I want to. I was dipping a large chip into a dip Amelia had made when I heard a warm caramel voice softly murmur"Good evening lover" As Eric reached his arms around me from behind, I reminded myself to stay strong. I took a breath and turned around. Crunching down on the chip harshly, I contemplated what my opening line was going to be. Eric of course, never has any such issues.

"Is that costume authentic lover"?

Oh for crying out loud.

The best Defense is a good Offense.

"I think the issue here is your costume Eric. Or did you think you could just waltz into my party naked and think I wasn't going to say anything"? As I finished chewing the chip I realized the dip had garlic in it. Good! That would keep him at a distance.

He put on his best innocent expression before saying "What do you mean Sookie? My private area is covered fully and I am wearing footwear" He held up a large foot to display the thongs he was wearing. At least they weren't cheap plastic flip flops, but the nice leather kind. Like that made a difference.

I put my fingers on the bridge of my nose and squeezed trying to hold off the "Eric headache" I just knew was coming soon. "Eric you know full well I expected you to arrive at this party fully CLOTHED! Don't pretend you didn't know that"

"No, I didn't know that. I asked you about this and you didn't say there were limitations on the type of costume or the theme. I've chosen a major Christian Old Testament Character and may I point out no one else seems to have an issue with this" he retorted as he strolled over to the Trueblood crockpot and gingerly pulled one out.

I couldn't believe he was trying to slide in under a technicality, but what could I do? At least it was all adults here and from the mental pictures I was getting, most of the guests were more amused than anything else. Sometimes you just have to roll with it.

"You should have been a lawyer Eric" I said heavily.

He smiled back at me brightly as he took a swig of his drink. "Thank you Sookie"

I had to smile back at him for thinking of my comment as a compliment. I picked up another chip and dipped it, maybe if I breathed REALLY hard …..

Looking me over he said " So, Sookie…."

"Yes"?

"Did Bill ask you to raise your skirt yet"?

"Eric"!

"I knew it. Bill is so reliable in some ways, its one of his better characteristics" he smirked.

While I was trying to think of a reply to this, Sam walked into the kitchen, god bless him. He was getting a refill on his beer and putting some more of the pigs in blankets on his little plate. I walked over to him, thankful to get away from Eric the Interrogator.

He simply raised his eyebrow at Eric, but otherwise ignored him which seemed to be fine with Eric.

"How are you enjoying the party so far"? I asked.

"I think its going great so far Sookie! Everyone seems to be having a good time and I've been able to catch up with a few people I don't get to see much" He replied.

"Here, you need to try this dip Sam, its pretty good" I gestured towards the chips. "And the dip has lots of yummy GARLIC in it" I said winking at him.

Sam's face just lit up, "Sounds good Sookie , you know how much I LOVE garlic" he said as he reached down for some chips and started dipping. I patted his chest a little trying to stuff some of the straw that was falling out back in (just like the real Scarecrow huh?). I looked back just in time to see Eric scowling a little as he moved back into the living room.

"What crawled up his butt"? he asked.

"Well, pretty much anything can at this point since there's nothing covering it" I replied. We both laughed a little, Sam trying not to choke on his dipped chip.

Alcide, Tray and the flapper strolled in to replenish their drinks and snack plates too. I asked them how they were enjoying the party.

"I'm having a good time Sookie. It's nice to go to a gathering without any major calamity isn't it"? Alcide said.

"I completely agree with you there" I answered.

Tray piped up "You and Amelia did a great job with the decorations Sookie. It's just enough to be festive, but I don't feel like I've walked into a haunted house or something"

"I can't take responsibility for that Tray, Amelia did most of the work" I said. I didn't want to take more credit than my due.

Strolling back into the living room, I gazed around at the eclectic group of guests milling around and chatting with one another. It was actually pretty satisfying that Amelia and I had managed to have a party with Supes who normally wouldn't have anything to do with each other, actually getting along. The little twinkle lights Amelia had hung cast a lovely white and orange light. Someone had lit a fire in the fireplace and the Jack O Lanterns were still burning brightly. All the warm light made everyone's skin glow, especially the vampires. I deliberately tore my gaze away from Eric's skin which was on major display and facing away from me. Instead, I joined a little group across the room consisting of Rasul, one of the biker Were's and the Hobo. The Hobo turned out to be a Witch from Philadelphia named Tony, go figure. The subject up for discussion was racing cars.

Tony asked "Didn't stock car racing get its start from bootleggers during Prohibition"?

"Yes" the rest of us Southerners answered in unison. We know our car racing history if nothing else.

Even I knew a little about this subject. "The moonshiners had to have fast cars to outrun the Feds, so they bought the fastest cars they could , then souped them up and ran them against each other on weekends. Eventually, this became Nascar." I didn't mention the fact that watching cars drive in a circle was a pleasure that I couldn't quite grasp.

Rasul turned his head toward the group Eric was in "Hey Eric, weren't you a moonshine runner during Prohibition"?

Eric nodded "Yes, I was for a while" This got some interest from a few of the men in the room. Nothing like car talk for bonding men together.

"Really"? The Hobo Tony asked. "Why did you do it"? I guess he had trouble understanding why a vampire would be involved in this sort of thing. Since this was Eric, it was pretty easy for me to figure out what he was going to say. Eric sauntered up to our little group, getting just close enough to me for my temperature to rise a little.

"The money" Eric responded (big surprise there) "The markup on alcohol was incredible. Many of the mafia gangs would never have become as powerful as they did if it wasn't for all the money they made running liquor" He smiled as he said "And outrunning Feds was fun"

Tray had overheard some of this conversation. He walked up and asked "Do you remember what kind of car you drove"?

Eric thought for a moment "Bill! What was the car I used to run the moonshine in"?

Bill had been watching the cheerleader spin around blindfolded trying to find Bela's face. Apparently, Amelia's little spell worked better on humans. Bill answered immediately " The Packard or the Cadillac"?

Turning back towards our group, "It was the same model Cadillac that Capone had. I figured if it was good enough for him, it would be good enough for me. I never wanted anything but a fast powerful car after that" Eric laughed.

He had a nostalgic expression on his face that I'd never seen before. Getting vampires to talk about their pasts isn't easy. Many of them won't do it at all or get upset if you ask questions. Since they spent so many centuries hiding what they are I guess that makes sense.

At this point, Amelia started banging on the steel tub and said "Okay, let's have a few volunteers to Bob for Apples"! Sam went into the kitchen with her to help her fill the tub and carry it back into the living room. She had the forethought to put a piece of plastic tarp down underneath it which was good since I didn't want to see my living room floor flooded. Tray decided to be a good boyfriend and stepped up first, pulling his leather jacket off his big shoulders. A couple of the other Weres were teasing him and promising to do a "countdown" to how long it would take him.

Everyone gathered around the tub area, since lets face it watching people try to drown themselves for an apple is entertaining in a Jerry Springer kind of way. Suddenly, the cheerleader decided to get into her character a little more.

"Give me a T"! A few of the young male witches and Weres shouted back "T"!

"Give me an R"!

"R"!

"Give me an A"!

"A"!

"Give me a Y"!

"Y"!

"What's that spell"?

"TRAY"! The male Weres were having a good laugh over this, partially because they had been enjoying the cheerleader's bouncing up and down shaking her pom pom's and not just the ones in her hands. Tray gave them the one finger salute which just made everyone laugh harder and then he dunked his head under. They all started counting "One, two, three, four …"!

Pam appeared next to me with a fresh Trueblood in her hand. "It would be interesting if he wasn't allowed to come back up without an apple in his mouth don't you think"? Trust Pam to give me the creeps watching a fun Halloween game.

Standing on her other side was Bill, he said "According to folklore being the first to get an apple boded well for finding a spouse".

Pam snorted "Typical superstitious nonsense, Bill I'm amazed you'd give countenance to it".

"It worked for me" he replied. "I met my wife to be that night".

Tray had come up with the apple and his buddies were cheering him, along with the cheerleader shaking her pom poms going "Hooray for Tray"! Amelia handed him a towel and said "You did great sweetie"!

A couple of the other Were's did it and a few of Amelia's witchy friends. The same Were's would chant the whole time every player was under water, counting down the time and laughing. When the soaked player came up with the apple, Amelia would throw a towel over their head. It was mostly guys doing it since most of the women didn't want to mess up their hair and makeup.

Then the cheerleader chimed in with a suggestion "Do any of the vampires want to take a turn"? I froze a little because I was pretty sure none of the vampires present had any desire to "take a turn". Then Bill shocked me by saying "I'll do it". He pulled off his deerstalker and overcoat to reveal a 19th century typical black men's suit (I guess it was typical judging from the movies I've seen).

One of the young Were's said "Hey it's not fair since he doesn't have to breath" I could see Alcide rolling his eyes at this behind him.

Bill said "Then how about you give me a set time to accomplish it"? They all liked this idea and murmured to each other about what timeframe to set.

"Five seconds" The young Were Bobbing For Apples Rules Committee Spokesperson said.

"Fair enough" Bill kneeled down and eyed the apples carefully. When he went down the Were's started yelling "One, two,three, four…"! Bill came back up with the apple spiked on his fangs. Everyone clapped, the cheerleader jumped up and down contributing to the overall happiness of the young men present. Amelia laughed as she pulled the apple off Bill's fangs and handed him a towel.

Eric looked down at Bill rubbing the water out of his hair with the towel "Sometimes I wonder about you Bill" But he looked more amused than anything. Bill just shrugged in reply.

"What, you don't have the guts to do this"? I challenged. Hey, I've learned a thing or two about the Viking by now.

Eric looked offended "This is a simple game Sookie and beneath a vampire"

"Yeah, that sounds like chickens clucking to me" I sniffed. Eric's top lip started retracting in response and his fangs started poking thru. Do I know this guy or what?

"Hey Amelia! Eric wants a turn" I said.

Amelia turned around surprised and said "Of course Eric"! As she threw a few more apples in the tub.

I noticed some of the women in the room had repositioned themselves to be behind Eric as he kneeled down in front of the tub.

Please God make sure he keeps his legs together.

The Bobbing Were committee got ready to start their chant as Eric's blond head hit the water. They started yelling it out at the same time there was a number of sudden

FLASH!

FLASH!

FLASH!

Several of the people (actually a few women and one guy) yanked out their cell phones and started taking pictures of Eric's butt. I was aghast, but it all happened so fast there wasn't' anything I could do about it. I knew people had been taking pictures during the party which was cool since it was a Halloween party, but now this!?

Eric's head flew back up as the Were's got to "FIVE"! His long hair whipped around slinging water everywhere causing everyone to jump back laughing while they tried to avoid the rain shower. At first Amelia said " I think Bill beat you Eric since he got his apple in four seconds" but Eric pointed at his mouth and he had TWO apples pierced on his fangs, one on each fang. Everyone cheered some more and Amelia handed him his towel.

All the paparazzi guests immediately hid their camera phones while I glared at them.

Eric gallantly handed me the two apples like he'd just slayed a dragon for me. I guess I needed to be gracious since he'd been a good sport. "Thank you Eric and thank you too Bill. I appreciate you participating in the games". I tried to sound sincere since it's not everyday that vampires will get silly for you.

Then the cheerleader just had to do one more, "Give me a V"!

"V"!

"Give me an A"!

"A"!

"Give me an M"!

"M"! (M is for giving me a migraine)

"Give me a P"!

"P"!

"Give me an I"!

"I"!

"Give me an R"!

"R"!

"Give me an E"! (E is for Eric who believe it or not started joining in the cheer once he realized what word the cheerleader was spelling)

"E"!

"What's that spell"?

"VAMPIRE"!

"What's that spell"?

"VAMPIRE"! We all yelled back. And everyone applauded as she did a high kick and "whooo hoooed" shaking her pom poms some more. When she kicked her leg up her little skirt flew up and all the vampires in the room gave her inner thigh a decided looksie.

Well, I had to give it to her for her enthusiasm. I hope her Nerd date got her out of here before one of the vampires decided to feed on her B L O O D.

Alcide appeared to come to the conclusion that this was a good time to make an exit. Several of the Were's had come with him, so they came over to bid their goodbye's and thank me and Amelia for a good time. I gave Alcide a big hug which earned me a hard stare from across the room and said "Thanks so much for coming Alcide. I hope you had a good time and have fun tonight"

"It was great Sookie and don't be surprised if you hear a little howling tonight since we'll be close by. Bill said we could hunt on his property if we wanted." He said.

"Well, you know his property adjoins mine so feel free" I added wanting to be hospitable. And it's not like either Bill or I ever hunt, animals that is.

Alcide tipped his hat to me, which was cute and he left with most of the Weres in his wake. Weres feel most comfortable in a pack, it's just part of their nature I guess. Sam came up to me " I think I'll be shoving off too cher , it was great I had fun hanging out with you outside work" and we hugged each other tightly. That earned me a couple more hard stares from across the room.

Amelia was hugging Tray goodbye since he was going to join Alcide's pack for the night. A few of the witches were still clustered in small groups chatting about various events since Halloween was the next night after all. I started picking up stray plates and cups and took them back to the kitchen.

I was unplugging the crockpots when Pam came back and said " I'll be going since it appears the party is breaking up. Thank you for inviting me Sookie, I had a lovely time"

'I'm glad Pam"

Then she said " I'll hug you goodbye even though you smell of shifter" That Pam, I just had to laugh.

Rasul came back and took my hand, bowing over it with a flourish his hat in the other hand, gazing at me from his masked face. "Thank you dear lady for your kind invitation" he said, still in character I might add. I gave him a curtsy and thanked him. Rasul wouldn't hug me when he knew I was supposed to be Eric's "human". And I didn't try to since I didn't want to get him in trouble.

"Thank you for coming Rasul, I hope you had fun" I replied warmly. With a sweep of his cape he walked out with Pam, who I assume was his ride since they'd arrived together.

Amelia came in bearing some more plates and cups as we started condensing some of the food and plastic wrapping plates. "It went well don't you think"? She asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, I think everyone had fun, some more than others I guess. But then, that's true of any party right"?

And how often do you get groups who usually just fight and bicker to get along for a few hours and have a little fun? She said proudly.

"You've got a point there" I answered. I guess we did have something to be proud of didn't we?

Bill came back into the kitchen with the towel draped around his shoulders, his hair carefully combed with a side part. He carried the tub over to the sink to dump the water.

"I'll be leaving now Sookie, I have a little work to do at home tonight and Eric said he needs to speak with you privately" he said looking at me like he wasn't sure Eric had been telling the truth.

"Yes, he and I need to have a little chat I guess" I responded slowly. "It should be fine. Thanks for coming Bill and thanks for stepping up for that bit of silliness"

He smiled softly "I don't mind making a fool out of myself if it's for a good cause" And he took both my hands in his cool ones and brushed his lips across them as he gazed over at me with his dark brown eyes. I saw him pull on his overcoat and deerstalker as he went out the door followed by the Nerd and the Cheerleader walking arm in arm.

Amelia and I finished getting the kitchen in order assisted by a few of her witchy friends who had stayed behind while they were chatting about their craft ,the holiday and the gathering that Octavia had gone to in New Orleans. After I'd stalled as much as possible , wiping down every surface, going to the bathroom, brushing my teeth, taking out the trash , I took a deep breath and went back into the living room where I knew Eric was waiting. When I got to the corner of the doorway, I stopped and stared at him for a moment.

He was sitting on the sofa near the fireplace staring at the flames and the Jack O Lantern sitting next to it with its crooked grin. His long naked body was lounging on my furniture like a painter's model. His skin had a gorgeous glow from the fireplace. The little "bush" was still perched in his lap although I'll be damned if I could figure out how he had it attached down there. The towel was draped around his broad shoulders and his long blond hair had that wonderful rumpled quality that looks cute on men but makes women look frightful. His Trueblood was sitting on the side table next to him emptied and he appeared very relaxed and completely at home. It reminded me so much of Amnesia Eric for a moment I felt an ache deep inside.

Eric popped the bubble by looking up at me with his big blue eyes and saying "Are you done cleaning up"? It would never occur to a vampire sheriff to offer to help do post party clean up, no way. That brought me down to earth nice and quick.

"Yes Eric, lets go outside, a walk would be nice" I said. I didn't want to have this discussion in the house since Amelia and her friends were still here. It was cool outside but still comfortable. I grabbed my car keys on the way and Eric followed me out the back door.

"I thought you said a walk"? He asked.

"I need to get something out of the car" I said. I had forgotten that last bag of groceries from Joseph's and I couldn't remember everything in the bag, but Amelia was paying for them so I didn't want to leave it in my car and have anything spoil. That organic natural stuff isn't cheap. I pulled the bag out of the trunk and threw my keys into it since my costume didn't have any pockets.

We walked around to the front of the house and started going in the direction of the cemetery. For a few moments it was blissful, the night air was clear and cool. You could see the full moon lit up above the thinning tree limbs as the leaves rustled gently to the ground around us. And even though I hadn't had too much trouble shielding during the party, it was still a relief when all the people were gone. The tall vampire walking next to me was a blank, so I could really relax now.

Eric chose an innocuous topic to open our discussion. "Your costume is not some cheap copy from a store. Where did you get it"?

I told him about running into Betty Jackson and the outfit being a reenactors. I didn't have to explain what that was to him. I guess he'd lived in the South long enough to have heard of this.

It's odd to me that humans would want to relive the past much less an unpleasant past" he said.

"It may sound strange but I guess for some people, they think they would have been happier living in the past"

"It is good to learn from the past, but its no place to live" Eric said firmly. I didn't contradict him. If anyone should know what he's talking about on this subject, I'd imagine it would be him. "Building a future is more important. What's in our future Sookie? Are you my woman"?

Well, that was blunt, but referring to me with a possessive pronoun was not a good way to start. "I don't know Eric. Is being "your" woman (I made little finger quotes) involve being ignored for months at a time and then summoned by one of your flunkies when you feel like making the time to see me? Because if that's what it involves then, no, I'm not interested". I replied calmly. I was determined to not let him get me worked up and losing my temper.

"Sookie, I thought you understood I've been entertaining the King and negociating my future, our future, everyone's future since the takeover."

"And the phone at Fangtasia and your cell apparently don't work anymore since you don't have even five minutes out of a day to call me and see how I'm doing"? Maybe I was getting a little sarcastic sounding now.

"If you come live with me in Shreveport than that problem would be solved. You would see me everyday" he answered as if this was the solution to all our problems. I noticed the fact that he didn't answer why he wasn't calling me this whole time. And I couldn't believe he was bringing up us living together, was he nuts?

We had gotten into the Compton part of the cemetery. I stopped and looked up at him dumbfounded as to how to reply to such a ludicrous suggestion. "Eric …Eric …we've never even been on a DATE! How can you even talk about us living together! It's insane, it's nuts, it makes absolutely no sense what so ever"!

"I will take you out on a date if you wish, although it was my understanding that "dating" (and here he did the air quotes) is for people who don't know what they want. I know what I want. I want you, with me. It's really quite simple". He stated. God, he was so full of himself I could scream.

"Eric, lets forget for a moment that we have no idea if we could get along while dating much less living together. That's not even up for consideration in my book. I have no intention of moving out of my home or commuting back and forth to my job here in Bon Temps at this time". (Okay, maybe my voice was rising just a tad) "Did you ever stop and think how this will affect me? Or were you mostly just thinking about what you want"?

"I would take care of you, there would be no need for you to continue working for the Shifter" He said with his face getting that hardened look whenever he was displeased about something. Apparently this conversation wasn't going the way he'd planned.

Well, too bad for Eric. Just because he'd lost his mind didn't mean I was going to as well.

It was like we were having two different conversations. Eric apparently thought he could just show up after ignoring me for months, throw me on his white horse (red Corvette,whatever) and bundle me off to his home to sit on my ass until he got tired of me or turned me.

"I'm not looking to be saved Eric! I'd like to share my life with someone, not be someone's lapdog"!

He really started looking offended then, his pale glowing face frowning and his brows coming together. "I offer you a place in my home out of respect Sookie. Only Pam has been there before, no one else. And I would have thought you'd want to be together since you seemed confused about our blood bond".

Well, if he was offended, so was I, he was going to have to suck it up a little. "Since you havn't bothered explaining anything to me, than yes I am very confused." I answered. Maybe I could get some answers from this downward spiral of a conversation. " Is there any way to get rid of it"?

He stood a little straighter as he took that in. Oh yes, he was very offended. "You hate it that much? Unfortunately, the only way to end a permanent blood bond is death of one of the participants. And it must be final death, if the human is turned it will carry over". He said stiffly.

I deflated a little. I had hoped there was a way to get rid of it, but I'd suspected the opposite.

He continued. "The bond will get weaker over time if the blood exchanges end or the participants no longer have an emotional bond". He paused. "Do you hate me"?

"No Eric, of course not" I pinched my nose bridge again trying to stave off an Eric headache that was sure to turn into an Eric migraine any minute. "But sometimes I hate being around you. I get flooded with all these feelings and I don't know if it's you or me or just the bond. I want to know how I feel about you on my own, not because you're making me".

"Sookie, I'm not making you do anything" he said

"And yet I seem to end up in situations with you where that's exactly what happens. Things are being done to me that I don't like and …." I paused for a moment. It was hard to push down the feeling of despair about the whole situation. I cared for Eric, but how did I separate all these feelings and how did I know he wasn't manipulating this?

He stepped closer to me at this point, putting a large cool hand along the side of my face gently feeling every facet. "I don't like it when you feel so sad because of me" He said. "Making you unhappy…I don't want you to be unhappy Sookie"

I held my face up and let his strong hands hold my head as he leaned forward running his lips across mine. The Eric headache was fading as I relaxed and listened to the rustling trees and melded into his lips.

It took me a second to realize the little "bush" was doing some rustling of its own. Reminding myself to not look down, I opened my eyes and gazed into Eric's. How would I ever really know what to think about him? Would I ever be even remotely confident that he wanted to commit himself to me? Did those words even mean the same thing to him?

I pulled away and wandered toward one of the tombstones, idly running my fingers over its ruined edges. It was one of the smaller upright monuments although it was leaning over from time's oppressive march. "Lee Compton 1866-1867" it said. I realized it was Bill's baby son, the one that had died after the War. Leaning down I wiped the leaves away from its base. Eric stood behind me watching silently.

"It's Bill's baby" I explained.

"It's a hard thing, watching your children die" Eric said. He sounded like he knew what he was talking about. And I knew enough about history to realize that baby's dying used to be a very common thing and in some places it still was. Eric walked away from me quietly looking at the other tombstones, God knows what he was thinking. I stayed crouched down running my finger over the carving in little Lee Compton's headstone.

After a minute I couldn't see him, but I wasn't concerned. We needed a break during this intense conversation. And I needed to catch my breath. I wish I'd brought some water.

"Sookie Stackhouse"? A strange voice asked.

I jerked around completely caught off guard since I hadn't felt his approach. It was a slender beautiful man with white or blond short hair. He had his arms by his sides and smiled at me. He had to be a fairy since I couldn't read him at all, if he'd been vampire I would have felt the "void" behind me.

I was tired from a long day and the difficult conversation with Eric so of course I did the stupid thing.

"Yes, that's me" I answered.

His smile got bigger and the light came out of him like an explosion. If I'd been alone, it would have been all over, but the fairy hadn't realized Eric was with me. In the blink of an eye Eric was between me and the fairy.

I huddled behind Eric as best I could still clutching my grocery bag of healthy organic goods for some reason. The light was so powerful it seemed to fill the woods to the point it almost felt like daylight. Eric let out a low groan which sounded like he was in pain. Every time he moved even slightly the light came around and touched me with a searing burn like I was being cooked and I'd yelp with the pain. We needed help. I knew Alcide's pack was nearby but I couldn't imagine them being able to take on this guy. We needed another vampire. Bill! We were close enough to his house he might hear me scream and if he looked out the window he'd definitely see all this light since his house was higher up the hill and looked down on the cemetery.

"BILL"!! I screamed as loud as I could .

"BILL! BILL!! HELP! BILL!"

If Bill could get over here maybe he could distract the fairy or grab him from behind. Between him and Eric they could probably take care of this guy.

After what seemed like forever, I heard his voice.

"SOOKIE! Where are you "? He called.

The light had to be disorienting him, that and that damn spray Claudine put on me was masking my scent.

"OVER HERE! I'M WITH ERIC! FOLLOW MY VOICE"! I was practically screeching. And Eric's legs were trembling, whatever this light was it was affecting him too, he wouldn't last forever.

I just couldn't believe my life was finally going to end this way. Standing in the cemetery near my house, gosh how convenient, holding a bag of organic foods, wearing a Civil War dress, standing behind a naked Viking vampire.

Eric jerked suddenly and some of the light came around him, I screamed as it touched me and everything went black.

******************************************************************************

I was darkness.

I was a void.

There was no breath.

There was no heartbeat.

There was no motion.

Then there was light.

********************************************************************************

I realized I was lying on the ground with the crackling leaves around me. I could still smell the smells of Autumn and hear the trees. My body felt like I'd been in a car accident with the whiplash and all that, but it seemed like I could feel all my body parts so maybe I was okay.

"Are you alright"?

I felt relief as I realized it was Bill's voice. Thank goodness, he'd gotten to us in time.

But I couldn't hear Eric nor feel him in the bond. I dragged myself up in a panic. "Where's Eric? Is he okay"?

I blinked as I sat up and stared into the face of a blazing sunset of pinks, reds, oranges, and yellows. Stunned, I looked around me. I was sitting in the same place as before, a few feet away from Lee Compton's headstone. Only it looked brand new and was standing upright as were all the other tombstones and the area wasn't overgrown with weeds, brush and trees and time.

"Miss, are you alright"?

I turned and looked into the sunburned face of Bill Compton.

His warm hand was holding my wrist gently as he asked again."Miss, can you speak? Are you alright"?

Was I dreaming? Tentatively, I reached out my other hand and placed it upon his chest. He looked a little surprised, but didn't stop me. He was warm, sweaty and he smelled of earth, plants and the farm.

He had a heartbeat.

TBC

_Next Chapter: Sookie meets some new human friends and some old vampire friends_


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: As always Charlaine Harris owns everything, I own nothing, nada,zero,zip, zilch_

_I'd like to thank all of you who are willing to take this little leap outside the everyday in this story. I did warn you it was a journey. I'm so glad, you're all willing to go along. _

_Now let's see what's happening with Sookie ...._

* * *

My brain was trying to grasp what had just happened. Was I alive? Was I dead? Was I dreaming? Was I lying in bed at home with everyone around me caught up in some kind of delirium? Would I wake up like Dorothy at the end of Wizard of Oz saying "There's no place like home"?

I kept my head down, my gaze on my hand that was pressed against Bill's chest, feeling his heart beating steadily. My breathing and pulse slowed down to something approaching normal. Trying to make sense of the situation I did a little recap of what had just happened.

Eric and I were attacked by a fairy. Well, I was attacked , Eric got in the way.

The light had been horribly painful and felt like burning, but my skin wasn't showing any burns.

I seemed to be sitting in the cemetery near my house with a HUMAN Bill Compton kneeling patiently next to me which would imply I had traveled back in time.

Time travel is impossible.

This made no sense at all.

I was still wearing the costume from the party. The petticoats were peeking out from the edge of my skirt above my boots as I sat on the ground. Even more amazing the bag from Joseph's Natural Foods was lying on the ground next to me casting its own little shadow in the setting sun.

I lifted my head and really looked at Bill. He was wearing a gray, heavy cotton, long sleeved shirt with black pants and suspenders. There was some type of leather satchel with a long strap on it lying next to him with his rifle and a battered soft hat with a wide brim. He looked the same, kind of. It was Bill and yet not Bill. He wasn't pale white of course and his face lacked that cool expressionless look that vampires seemed to spend a lot of time perfecting. He didn't have that little vampire glow that I'd always noticed about them, he was just regular ole human tanned, sweaty, with a little scruff around his chin. There was dirt under his nails, which touched me for some reason.

His brown eyes were scanning me as he asked again "Miss, are you alright"?

"I don't know" I responded. Hey it was an honest answer.

"What happened to you"?

"I don't know" Again, a very honest answer.

He got a thoughtful expression and I let my shields down to hear what he was thinking. It was so strange listening to Bill's thoughts. When I receive a person's thoughts it's usually not in an organized fashion depending on how clear a receiver they are, but I also receive an emotional context with it.

Bill apparently hadn't seen me "pop" in from wherever, however I got there. He had just been walking by and saw me lying on the ground. My skirts had been up around my knees and he was concerned that something "unseemly" had happened to me. To protect my modesty, he'd pulled the skirts back down to my ankles. It was really hard for me not to burst out laughing at this visual, especially since it was such a Bill thing to do. He was also thinking that he'd never seen me before and he knew he'd remember a girl as pretty as I was.

The really weird part? It FELT like Bill, my Bill, Vampire Bill, whatever. His thoughts were organized, calm, and he was mostly concerned for my welfare which was sweet, frankly. He was also noticing every single detail about me in a very analytical way.

He noticed my skin was, in his mind "perfect", my teeth were perfect and my clothing was very high quality (let's give a cheer for the reeactors), clean and with no patches. Most human men barely notice what women are wearing much less any details about it, but Bill was definitely looking. While holding my wrist he was studying my hands and observed they were soft, with no calluses and the nails unbroken with no tears. He was assuming my age to be around 19 to 20 years of age which blew me away since I'm in my late 20's . And he was thinking that I was definitely NOT a farmers wife and he was sure I had a very worried husband looking for me somewhere since a woman like me would not be unmarried.

And he was thinking that if I was his wife, he'd be frantic right now. He tried a different tack.

"My name is William Compton, what's your name"? He asked.

I hesitated. I couldn't tell him my last name was Stackhouse since my long ago (to me) ancestors were living just across from him and that would cause all sorts of complications.

"Sookie" I said.

"What's your last name Sookie"?

I couldn't give the names of anyone from Bon Temps for the same reason I couldn't tell him my last name was Stackhouse. For some reason, another name jumped to the top of the pile.

"Sookie Northman, my name is Sookie Northman" I answered slowly, like I had to think about it, when really I was trying to get my tongue around it in a natural fashion.

"Where are you from Sookie Northman"?

I told myself I would never let Eric know I'd used his last name. He'd have a field day with me and Pam would tease him and me until the end of time. I wondered if he was still undead as it were, but there was nothing I could do for him right now. Thinking about Eric gave me an idea.

"I'm sorry, I just can't seem to think or remember..I just ...I ..." And I let out a major dry sob like it was just too much effort for me to think. As I knew he would, Bill pulled back.

"I apologize, you seem to be ill or maybe you've received a blow to the head. I shouldn't push you. If you can stand I'll take you back to my home, which is just up the hill, so my wife and sister can tend to you and we'll send for a doctor". He said apologetically. "Can you stand? I can carry you if you can't walk, if you'll permit me".

"No, that won't be necessary, I think I can stand up"

He grasped my arm and pulled me slowly to my feet. My legs were trembling a little, and I was sore, again like I'd been in a fender bender, but I seemed to be okay otherwise. The sun was touching the horizon and the coming darkness brought the typical Autumn chill. A light cool breeze touched my face and I suddenly realized I could feel the breeze someplace lower.

My panties were gone.

I couldn't lift my skirts to check with Bill standing there, but I knew they were gone. If Bill had done anything or removed them I would have known and I didn't have to listen to his thoughts to know he'd never do such a thing anyway. I started feeling around my clothing, checking to see if everything else was in place. My skirts, corset were fastened securely with the hooks and buttons. I felt the back of my head and the hairnet with my Great Great Grandmother's comb was still in place which was amazing to me. I started to bend forward to pick up my grocery bag, but Bill said "Please let me". He grabbed it and handed it to me. It felt lighter than when I'd been carrying it during my talk with Eric.

For the same reason I knew Bill would never have done anything to me while I was unconscious, I also knew he hadn't taken anything from the bag. I'd check it later.

Bill had put his hat back on, slung the satchel over his body and put the rifle over his shoulder while hanging onto my arm with his other hand. We slowly started walking towards the Compton house.

"Is Eric your husband" ? He suddenly asked. Damn! I had asked where Eric was when I was first coming around from this...whatever this was.

"Uh, I don't know" I stuttered.

"Are you married? Just so I can address you properly" he said politely.

"Um, I'm sorry, I just don't seem to be able to remember much. Everything is such a blur" I replied softly. I was hoping to deflect him a little by seeming ill and out of it. Considering how disorienting this whole situation was, it wasn't hard. I could tell by reading him, he wasn't entirely buying it. Either the whole Southern myth of men thinking women were weak was a load of BS or Bill was just smarter than the average bear. Keeping my mouth shut as much as possible would probably be wise until I could figure out what the heck was going on and what my options were.

We were probably about halfway there and I felt Bill becoming slightly anxious. It took a little probing to figure out why. Apparently, he'd been coming back from hunting when he ran across me, but he hadn't had much luck. His wife was going to be disappointed and he was concerned about this. Even though it had been almost two years since the war ended, the South was still recovering and many farmers were still trying to acquire livestock so meat was scarce. Bill had been working very hard getting his crops in and hadn't had time to go hunting for meat.

Having this in my mind was probably the only reason I noticed the quick flash out of the corner of my eye. Even in the quickly dimming light I could see a little white hopping tail to my right. I pointed it out to Bill. After checking to see that I was stable enough to stand on my own, he immediately dropped into a familiar one knee down crouch, lined his rifle up and pulled the trigger. The BANG of the rifle was much louder than I anticipated and I jumped a little. The poor bunny let out a shriek and went twisting down into the drying Autumn leaves. I felt a momentary jab of pity for the poor thing, but reminded myself of how many people during this time, including Bill's family depended on local wildlife for food.

Bill quickly walked over, pulled a thin leather strap out of his satchel, tied the bunny's hind feet together and came back over to make sure I was still standing. He was relieved to have something to take home to his wife. (I was beginning to get a sneaky suspicion Bill wasn't the one wearing the pants in his household) He hung the bunny upside down off the end of his rifle as he put it back across his shoulder. I was a little icked out, but reminded myself of how many deer I'd seen in my lifetime sprawled atop the hoods of pickup trucks and told myself to get over it. Gently grasping my arm again with his other hand, we resumed our walk towards his house.

"It was fortunate you spotted that rabbit. I must be more tired than I thought". He said.

"Oh, no problem at all" I responded. "I'm glad I could be of help".

We kept slowly on our way and it was almost full dark now, the sun had dipped past the horizon. Now I was the one feeling nervous. Nervous about meeting Bill's family and wondering what was going to happen to me. What would I have done if Bill hadn't been there?

What was his wife going to say? What was I going to do?

I grimly told myself to just take this one step at a time. I would think on this more later.

We came to the clearing where the Compton house stood. In the darkness it appeared the same to my eyes, but the area around it was not. There were several acres cleared around it and several outbuildings including a barn almost the same size as the house. Lights were coming thru the windows, but not very brightly since they weren't electric (well duh). And there was no porch light of course.

Bill took me around to the back porch which had all sorts of gadgets and various things hanging down that I couldn't identify in the darkness.

"Please could you sit here for a minute while I get this rabbit put away"? he asked.

"Of course" I replied, sitting down on a bench near the backdoor. That would give me a few minutes to think.

"I'll only be a moment. I'll be right over there" He said, pointing in the direction of one of the buildings. He was concerned I'd be upset being left alone.

"I'll be fine B…Mr. Compton, please go ahead. I can sit here for a couple minutes" I insisted.

I heard his step steadily walking toward the small building which he apparently used for butchering and smoking. I couldn't see him well after that. My night vision was probably not as good as his being a modern person used to constant light twenty-four hours a day.

I took a deep breath and relaxed my shields a little. I could "hear" the other people in the house. A woman who had to be his wife, was trying to keep his supper warm and was a little worried about him not being back yet. Another woman who was kind of hard to read, who I assumed was his sister. And there were two children with the typical buzzing thoughts like fireflies in a jar, like most children I've run into.

It would be best at this point to just keep playing the "amnesia" card until I could figure out my next move. "And what if you're stuck here"? my inner voice said. I told my inner voice to shut up until I asked for its opinion.

Since my shields were down, I realized I was feeling someone else near by.

Vampire!

I was picking up a void, actually three voids near the property. I sat there frozen on the bench, trying not to breath, my heart making so much racket I thought for sure the vampires would hear it. They seemed to be moving past the property, walking at human speed which was strange.

Then they stopped.

I squinted trying very hard to peer into the dark, but of course that was absurd. No human had night vision the way vampires did, they would see me before I would ever seen them. It suddenly struck me how much danger I was in. This was before the Great Revelation. Vampires were still in hiding, lived outside human society and laws and did whatever they pleased as long as no one realized what they were. Bill's family inside the house was safe since no vampire could cross the threshold of someone's home without an invitation. Bill and I were in danger, especially if he left that little outbuilding he was in.

Staying completely still, I concentrated and reached out with my ability. For once, I wished I had one of those little flashes that allowed me to "read" a vampire's mind. Was it Bill's Maker Lorena? Had she come to take him away? I couldn't remember exactly when Bill had been taken from his family. He had shown me in the Compton family Bible and it was on his damn tombstone, but I couldn't remember!

And why was I hearing three vampires? Who were they? Were they someone I knew?

They started moving again, past the property not towards it. I slunk back against the wood siding (well as much as a corset will allow) so relieved that the vampires had someplace else to be. Hopefully, they were just passing thru Bon Temps.

The timing was perfect since Bill chose that moment to leave the little outbuilding. The door creaked a bit and he had to give a good push to shut it judging from the grunt he made. My eyes were adjusting a tiny bit and I could make out him going up to a water pump, giving it a few pumps and washing his hands below the cascade of water.

Now that I knew there were vampires out here (oh all those lucky people who had no idea!) I was over my nervousness about meeting Bill's family and just wanted to get into the relative safety of the house.

He walked across the porch floor and knocked on the door. We heard the sound of running footsteps inside. "Tommy, It's me" he announced loudly. The door swung open and I stood to follow him inside and meet the Compton's.

Blinking in the relative brightness of the interior, it took me a second to really notice my surroundings. My attention was mainly drawn to the two children in front of me. I would have known Tommy was Bill's son without being told. He had been approximately 10 years old when Bill had been turned and he looked like a miniature version of Bill. A Bill mini-me if you will and he was so adorable as little Bill I almost wanted to pinch his cheeks and tousle his brown hair. His clothing was similar to his father's. His brown eyes were wide with curiousity as they steadily looked me up and down trying to figure out who this stranger was. To my surprise he didn't say anything, but looked at his father first.

"This is Miss Sookie Northman. And this is my son Tommy and my daughter Sarah" Bill said, gesturing in the little girl's direction.

Clutching the grocery bag strap to me tightly, I smiled at both of them. I'm sorry to say it was my "crazy Sookie" smile since I was so nervous and unsure of what to do. "How do you do" I replied with my best manners.

Little Sarah, who appeared to be maybe 8 years old, hid shyly behind her father a little and said very softly " Nice to meet you Miss Northman". And she must take after her mother, since she was blond with a rounder face than her brother and pouty lips. She was clutching a little doll made from brown fabric with button eyes who appeared to be Native American judging by the buckskin clothes and few beads decorating its clothing.

"I like your doll Sarah" I said gently.

"It's a papoose"! She announced quite loudly.

"Sarah, moderate your voice please, and don't contradict" Bill chided, looking at his daughter and touching her hair lightly.

"Sorry, Papa" She said, her big brown eyes gazing up at him.

At that moment, the women of the house walked in from the front living room. The taller one was my height, slender, with a narrow face and brown hair. She had to be Bill's sister Sarah. That means the other woman was Bill's wife Caroline. She was a few inches shorter with blond hair and the mature version of her daughters face. She spoke as they turned into the kitchen we were standing in.

"William, I was getting a little worried about…" And she stopped when she saw me. She directed her gaze towards her husband with a question.

"This is Miss Sookie Northman, I found her out by the cemetery. She appears to have suffered from some type of malady and was lying on the ground unconscious when I found her." He briefly explained everything that had happened since he saw me. Looking at me, he introduced the rest of his family "This is my wife Caroline and my sister Sarah Compton"

"How do you do"? I replied. There was an awkward pause. I had to say something about what had happened. "I'm so grateful Mr. Compton came along and helped me. I'm not sure what has happened to me and I surely appreciate it".

The two women bustled over and each took one of my arms as they directed me towards the front room where they had a fire going in the fireplace. "William, she should have been tended to immediately. Who knows what may have happened"? His wife commented mildly.

I could feel Bill's intense relief that his wife was in charge of me now, so he did the smart thing. He agreed with her "Of course, Caroline, you're absolutely right. He said. It was all I could do not to snicker.

My skirts and the skirts of the two other women rustled against each other as they steered me close to the fireplace. The kitchen had been warm enough from the black wood burning stove in there, but the living room was nice and cozy from the big fire they had going. I hadn't realized what a chill I'd had from being outside even in the wool dress and petticoats I was wearing. His sister placed me in the high backed chair she had been sitting in and wrapped a wooly knitted shawl around me.

"Thank you so much, this feels so wonderful" I said with as much feeling as I could muster. They had a serious kickass fire going and it felt fantastic, chasing all the cold right out of my bones. She sat in the chair opposite me and the two children sat on a bench silently watching. They (the children that is) wanted to see if I would DO anything stemming from my "malady" and wondered what would happen. It was all I could do not to smile at them.

Caroline had gone back into the kitchen with Bill and they were having a quiet conversation about me which I was trying to "listen" to while holding a conversation with the older Sarah Compton.

"It's must seem so strange, not remembering where you're from" she said, with concern. " I hope it doesn't turn into a brain fever"

I wasn't sure what a "brain fever" was, but it seemed best to just nod along and agree with her. "Everything is just so fuzzy right now, I'm sure it'll come back to me. I just wish I knew what had happened to me (boy did I ever!) " I replied, taking deep breaths like it was an effort to talk.

I hate lying. I really, really hate it, but it was necessary, so I was trying to keep this simple. Otherwise, I was liable to forget the lie and let out my secret. She fell silent for a minute and I refocused on what Bill and his wife were discussing in the next room. They were discussing getting a doctor for me, but were concerned about how they were going to pay him. They were still paying for previous bills and cash was scarce with inflation and the South still recovering. I felt horrible about this. I remembered Bill telling me how poor everyone was after the War and here they were going to waste money on a doctor, for me a stranger, who wasn't going to be able to do anything for me anyway.

Caroline was all for getting the doctor as soon as possible. She was concerned about my condition turning into a brain fever. Bill thought I seemed okay and maybe would get better on my own. He'd seen injuries during the War where men had trouble remembering, then it came back without treatment. They just needed rest. I sat there hoping Caroline would agree, but she was worried that something might happen to me and it would be on their shoulders for not getting help for me. She was thinking this was what good Christians do.

Now they were talking about what they could sell or trade to pay the doctor. No way was I going to allow them to sell their possessions. The guilt was eating me up, I had to say something.

I stood up and went into the kitchen where Caroline was getting a covered plate out of the oven for Bill. I started talking before either could say anything. " I know that Bill mentioned getting a doctor for me earlier, but I would really rather not. I feel alright and I think with some rest my memory will clear up on its own. I really don't think I need a doctor right now." I said in a rush. Bill looked at his wife triumphantly and she just nodded in return.

"Very well, since you don't seem to be getting worse and you're not in any pain, we could wait and see for a bit" She said reluctantly. "Would you like something to eat or drink? That might help".

"Thank you so much, but I'm not really hungry. Some water would be good though, I am rather thirsty" I answered. I really wasn't hungry, but I was dying for a drink. She went to a pail and scooped water out with a dipper, poured it into a tin cup and handed it to me as I sat down on one of the benches around the kitchen table. The water was cool and tasted wonderful since it came from their well and hadn't been chlorinated within an inch of its life. I drank deeply and tried not to stare at Bill as he ate across the table from me. He was eating some kind of meat in gravy with a fork and dipping a big piece of crusty bread in the gravy to sop it up. It was so bizarre seeing him eat, I had to lower my head and stare at my feet to hide my expression since I didn't trust myself.

Little Sarah came walking up to me with her "papoose" and stood staring until her mother said something. "Sarah! It's not polite to stare at people, you know better".

"I'm sorry Mama, I just want to see the M'Lady" she replied sincerely. I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing since I didn't think Mrs. Compton would appreciate it.

"It's not nice to stare especially when people aren't well and its time for little girls to be in bed anyway" Her mother said firmly.

"Yes Mama" And little Sarah made her way upstairs with her Aunt and older brother in tow.

Bill looked at me apologetically "I apologize for her behavior. That's not typical for her"

"Don't worry about it" I insisted. I didn't want little Sarah to get into trouble because of me. "Children tend to be curious, it's alright".

Then Caroline said "Come, I'll show you to your room. You can sleep down here" She led me to the front room that Vampire Bill now used as an office. Right now, it had a bed, dresser, wash stand, a table next to the bed and a couple chairs. In her right hand she carried an oil lamp and set it on the nightstand. In her left hand she carried a bed warmer which is something I'd only seen in antique shops. It had warm embers from the stove and she shoved it into the foot end of the bed under the covers. "Do you need help"?

I assumed she meant did I need help getting out of my clothes. I decided I did not. I needed to be alone so I could THINK, so as kind as she was I wanted her out of here. "No thank you, I should be fine. Some sleep will be a great benefit I'm sure" I said.

She nodded and closed the door behind her. I sighed in relief. I figured I could just sleep in the chemise. I really wanted a shower of course, but that wasn't happening. I really wanted to brush my teeth with my minty gel toothpaste, but that wasn't happening either. So I started taking my hair down and getting my clothes off.

It took a little longer than I anticipated, but it was such a relief when the corset came off. I dreaded putting it back on the next day, but I knew that wasn't an option. Respectable women wore them all the time during this time period. I'd have to suck it up for now.

Gingerly, I eased onto the bed. This part of the house was much colder, so I appreciated the bed warmer and moved my feet as close as I dared. The ticking was filled with some type of straw which smelled like fresh cut grass, it must have been filled recently. The pillows were all down. The sheets were actual linen with heavy quilts on top. I shifted around trying to get comfortable. Even though I was exhausted, I lay awake since for me it was still "early evening". I reminded myself that the Compton's were a farming family and would probably get out of bed at the crack of dawn like that Amish family in the Harrison Ford movie Witness. I'd forgotten to look thru my grocery bag. I looked at it sitting on the chair across the room and decided that could wait until morning.

I had started to relax and adjust to the absolute darkness and quiet. You don't realize how many light sources are in your house like digital clocks until they're not there. And it was so QUIET. No far off trucks rumbling and backfiring on Hummingbird Lane. No commercial jets flying overhead. Just a slight tick tock of a clock in the foyer was all I could hear. The Compton's were all asleep, their brains shut down so I was able to relax my shields completely.

Then I realized I was sensing vampires again.

I jumped out of the bed and looked out the window like that was going to make a difference. I couldn't see jack in the darkness outside. I concentrated again. There was no way of knowing if it was the same vampires as before or different ones. What the hell was going on? Was there some major vampire meeting going on in Bon Temps?

There were two vampires standing still just near where the modern day driveway was. I stood still in my chemise and woolen stockings, touching the cold glass of the window mentally reaching out.

Then the two vampires started moving towards the house.

TBC

_A/N: I had intended to show the vampires in this chapter, but the Comptons took over and bullied me, so its not my fault. The chapter started to get a little out of control, so I promise we'll find out who all these undead night crawlers are in the next chapter. Girl Scouts Honor!_


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N As usual, Charlaine Harris owns everything, I own nothing, nada, zero, zip, zilch. _

_All mistakes and screw ups are my own, I was pretty tired when I finished and posted this so there's probably a few. _

_Confession: this chapter got completely away from me. I intended to write a 5000word chapter and it turned into 9600words so you may want to take your bathroom break before you start. I thought about chopping it, but I promised vampires in this chapter so I decided screw it, you all can read, you'll be fine. LOL! _

_Thanks to all of you for enjoying this little historical trip. I wasn't sure how it would go over, you've all been great. _

_Now on with the show..........._

* * *

I stood and trembled against the window, partly from cold and partly from fear. I reminded myself that the vampires couldn't enter the house (unless they've been inside before my stupid inner voice reminded me). It helped that I knew the general layout of Bill's property. The two vampires split up. One was circling the house as the other stood still just ten feet in front of it. Like an idiot I forgot that even with all the lights off, they'd be able to see me standing in the window. I crouched behind the curtain, trying desperately to see. If this was modern times, I'd flick the front porch and security lights on and they'd probably go running like cockroaches.

Suddenly, I realized the vampire who had been circling was back in the front and had stepped on the front porch not two feet in front of me! Pressing my backside against the cold plaster walls, I held as still as possible and tried to breath very quietly. The "void" was on the other side of the wall from me, whoever he or she was, they KNEW I was awake. There was a faint creak as one of the porch boards gave under the vampire's weight. What the hell did they want?

We had a little standoff for another minute, than the "voids" flew away from the house at vampire speed going towards Hummingbird I think.. I sank to the floor, clutching my chest.

It had to have been Lorena, it just had to be. Although, I couldn't imagine who would be with her. The timeframe was right and Bill had never mentioned his family being attacked by vampires while he was human, unless he was glamoured afterward and just didn't know. That meant any day now, Lorena was going to show up and either lure Bill out or attack him when he was coming from chores or something. He would disappear as far as the residents of Bon Temps were concerned and his family would be left alone.

And there was nothing I could do about it.

Since I was once again wide awake, I picked up the grocery bag and took it back to the bed with me. Shoving my lower half under the covers, I tried to snuggle a bit and warm up near the bedwarmer again. I tipped the bag over and examined the contents.

My keys were gone, I noticed that immediately and I knew I had thrown them in there when Eric and I had gone on our walk. There were two large white pure beeswax candles with brown paper wrappings "Made in Vermont" it said. There was a five pound bag of organic fair trade coffee beans, but it was missing the cellophane outer sleeve that had all the information on it. The brown paper bag was still sealed around it, the strong coffee smell immediately permeated the room. There was a little brown box of organic fair trade loose tea from India. I looked inside, the little paper bag was still sealed too. There had been some makeup by a company that used all plant based ingredients and promised no animal testing. The little plastic containers had all been marked "recyclable". That was gone as was a plastic bottle of some type of natural herb extract pills or something. By that point I had been in a hurry and was only grabbing things off the list. The two pounds of naturally raised not messed with bacon was still wrapped in its butcher paper, but its plastic wrap was gone. I had practically had a heart attack when I saw how much it cost, but reminded myself if Amelia wanted to pay top prices to make sure pigs she ate had a good life, that was her business.

There was a set of wooden spoons, but they were loose in the bag. They'd had plastic netting around them at the store. Amelia wanted them to give to a woman at the Insurance Agency she worked at who had just announced she was getting engaged. They were beautiful spoons, made from some type of African hardwood (fair trade again, I was going to have to ask Amelia what that meant) , with a dark swirling grain going up the handles and they were heavy. Unfortunately, one of them hadn't made the little "trip" intact and was split lengthwise down the middle.

I looked closely at the bag itself. The writing outside was still there as was the inside. It said " Made from 100% Hemp, no pesticides, with all vegetable dye lettering" .

I shoved everything back into the bag. I was a little concerned about the bacon, but it had sat in a cold trunk outside my house and this room was pretty cool and it wasn't like the Compton's had a refridgerator anyway. It should be okay until morning. I leaned back and got completely under the covers going thru all this in my head.

Everything that had traveled with me was made from natural elements. There was nothing synthetic or man made in the bag or on my person. All the plastic stuff and my modern stainless steel keys hadn't made it. My panties, while they were mostly cotton, they had spandex in them for stretch/comfort and elastic openings of course. The outfit I was wearing was made out of materials that people of this time used, which had to be why it was still intact. Even the buttons were not plastic. (let's give another cheer for the reenactors!)

If I had worn something else, I probably would have arrived in the cemetery naked as Arnold in the Terminator movies. What would Bill have thought then? Okay, this thought made me giggle a little.

When I got up in the morning I'd give Mrs. Compton the bacon, tea and coffee. I knew there had been shortages even well after the war and they would probably be appreciated. It would alleviate my guilt a little at the Compton's having to put me up and lying to their faces.

I had no idea how or why I had ended up here. It was highly unlikely that fairy had turned up just to send Sookie Stackhouse on the Time Travel Trip of a Lifetime. It was pretty obvious he had intended to kill me and would have if Eric hadn't jumped in front of me. Poor Eric, he'd gotten thru the first thousand years with no problem, but he was never going to make it to two thousand hanging around me.

And why here in Bon Temps? Was it because I was from here? What little I knew about time travel was from watching old Star Trek episodes and the Terminator movies with Jason. One time I fell asleep in front of the TV watching a real crime show on the Discovery channel (which helped me figure out how to clean Debbie Pelt's blood out of my kitchen) and when I woke up there was this Asian guy with white hair and a pleasant voice explaining how time travel was possible with a powerful enough energy source. He had also mentioned that a person would be killed going thru anyway and he'd lost me after that.

Hey, I'm not a physicist.

More importantly, how do I get back? I have no magical skills and witches (real witches) probably hid themselves really well during this time period. (do you blame them?) . Fairies were very magical and probably could help me but who or how would I….. NIALL!! Niall was alive right now, but I had no idea how I would contact him and as far as he was concerned I wasn't born yet anyway.

Wait a minute, if Eric survived the attack (big IF Sookie, my inner voice said ), then he had to have contacted Niall and maybe right now my fairy relatives were looking for me! For the first time since landing here, I started feeling a little hope. I clung to my little hope life raft. I had to believe someone would find me, I just had to.

Realizing I'd forgotten my prayers and if any situation warranted asking the Big Guy for help, this one surely did.

I put my hands together and I thanked God for keeping me alive and sending me to the Compton's. They were struggling and didn't have much, but hadn't thought twice about taking me in and caring for me. I apologized for lying to them, but since it was for their own good, I hoped He could overlook it. I asked Him to keep Eric safe and hopefully help Niall look for me (although how he would find me in thousands of years of time, well..) And I focused really hard and thanked Him as strongly as I could for giving me a Grandmother who had taught me to be strong and that I could survive anything if I put my mind to it.

And I really REALLY thanked Him for making her a member of the Descendents of the Glorious Dead and Betty Jackson allowing me to wear this outfit.

I prayed that I wouldn't have to pee until morning since I didn't want to go outside to use the outhouse or use the chamber pot that was probably under the bed.

At this point, I realized my life was in God's hands. But then my life has always been in His hands when you get down to it. I finally relaxed and fell asleep.

I was pretty much right on the nose about the Compton's getting up at the crack of dawn like the Amish. I could hear them walking around upstairs as they got ready for their day and some banging in the kitchen. I worried for a second, but realized the sun had broken the horizon so the area surrounding it should be vampire free at this point.

Early for me is usually 8am since I work in a bar and usually get off work between midnight and 1am. I was pretty sure it was maybe 5 or 6 am at the latest. I stumbled to my feet and worked on getting the clothes I'd worn the day before back on.

And I was dreading going outside into the quite brisk morning to use the outhouse.

There was a soft knock at the door. A mental check showed it was the elder Sarah. "Come in" I called out. She opened the door and peeped her head in. She was carrying a pitcher of hot water, which was obvious because steam was rising from it and had a cotton towel and washcloth on her arm. Thank you Jesus! She walked over to the washstand and sat the pitcher next to the large bowl

"How are you feeling this morning Miss Northman"? She asked, as she pulled a small pottery type jar out of the pocket of her full apron.

"Call me Sookie, please. And I'm feeling much better physically although my memory is still blurry. Thank you so much for the hot water"! I tried to tone it down, but it was like she'd brought me gold and silver. If she'd had a cup of hot coffee in her hand, I would have been tempted to kiss her.

"Well then Sookie, please call me Sarah" She said as she placed the small jar next to the pitcher. "Do you need any help"?

"In a few minutes, after I wash up I probably will" I said.

She nodded and replied " I'll be back in a few minutes".

At this point I'd only gotten on a couple of the lower skirts, so I left them be and prepared my morning toilet. The little jar held some slimy brown stuff that had to be homemade soap (thank you Gran!) and it wasn't nice to touch, smell, or feel but it was soap and I desperately wanted a wash. Pouring some of the hot water into the washbowl, I washed my face first to get all the sleepy crud out of my eyes and lathered up the washcloth with the slimy soap and started washing my underarms and down below as best I could. I got the washcloth rinsed and ran it over myself to clean off the soap. Then I finished off by drying with the towel.

I promised myself that if I ever got back to my time, I would thank God every night for indoor plumbing and running hot water.

Sarah knocked again and came back in to help me finish dressing.

I told myself there should be nothing about my outfit that would tip her off that it wasn't ordinary. Putting my arms up, she tightened my corset which wasn't helping my bladder which needed to dispose of its contents as soon as possible. She was actually fairly relaxing since she was harder to read than her brother and didn't chatter.

She had a hairbrush in her hand thank goodness and motioned for me to sit on one of the chairs. After she was done, my hair looked exactly the way it had when I arrived, she even had the comb placed correctly. Practice makes perfect I guess. I thanked her again and with a sway of her skirts she left my room.

Since I really had to pee now, I decided to do that first then give Mrs. Compton the items. I said "Good morning" politely to her as I passed thru the kitchen, she knew where I was headed so she didn't stop me to chat. Shaking a little from the chill, I stepped off the back porch and looked around for the outhouse. Bill was exiting the barn followed closely by mini-me, apparently they had been feeding and watering the animals. Little Sarah was over by the chicken house letting them out and throwing feed on the ground for them.

"Where is the …" I didn't have to finish, he already knew.

"The Necessary is past the smoke house and behind the barn" He said, pointing in that general direction.

With not peeing since before my talk with Eric and the sudden cold, well you know what happens right? I speed walked to the outhouse. Thank goodness for those crotchless drawers because I wouldn't have made it if I'd had to fiddle with anything or pull clothing down. I just raised my skirts and plopped myself down. There was a Sears and Roebuck catalog and a couple newspapers sitting next to the seat (nicely polished wood, thank you Bill!) looking a bit torn up. Guessing that was the toilet paper around here I finished up and feeling much better went back into the house.

I got the packages from my room and went back into the kitchen which was a flurry of activity and swirling skirts. Mrs. Compton didn't let any grass grow under her feet, she was all over the place. Bill's sister was putting dishes on the kitchen table since I guess this is where they ate breakfast as his wife finished stirring some wonderfully smelling pans of something on the black stove which was practically glowing.(the kitchen was nice and toasty at this point) I remembered catching fire being the 2nd leading cause of death for women during this time according to Gran which was why wool aprons were popular. Wool doesn't catch fire easily. I resolved to stay away from the stove anyway.

"Um, excuse me Mrs. Compton" I said tentatively while tapping her shoulder.

She turned around and gave me her full attention. "Please call me Caroline" she said with a kindly smile.

I felt a tiny stab of jealousy toward the current Mrs. Compton. She was a truly kind person and those people are rare. She felt very lucky with her life, her husband and her children. I got the impression she didn't love Bill with the wild passion that most people think of as love. But she felt she was lucky to be married to him and thanked God everyday that that he had come back from the War when so many women's husbands hadn't.

Okay, maybe I was feeling a little more than a tiny stab of jealousy. Bill had gotten very fortunate with his human wife.

It's too bad he'd gotten so unlucky with the Vampire Psycho Ho Maker.

I pushed the packages into her hands. "Please take these, I found them in my bag, I'm not sure how I've come to have them, but I truly appreciate you taking me in and I want you to have this" I stammered out quickly. (God I hate lying!)

She wiped her hands on her apron, then took the packages and sat down on the nearby bench. Opening the coffee bag first, she let out a gasp as she saw what it was. Clamping her hand over her mouth, for a second I thought she was going to cry.

I heard clear as a bell from her head. She hadn't seen coffee in over five years.

And the coffee being sold at the local general in Bon Temps was selling for $50 a pound. Did I hear that right? FIFTY DOLLARS?! I kept my face still of course, as I quickly said " I'm so sorry, I had no idea I would upset you"! I didn't know what to do.

She dabbed her eyes quickly and said" I'm alright, I'm just a little overwhelmed. How did you come to have this …" She trailed off thinking maybe the coffee had been stolen from someone, but she couldn't allow herself to believe I was that kind of person. It was so nice to have someone assuming nice things about me for a change.

I shrugged again and said " I'm sorry, I just don't know, but I want you to have it. You've been so kind". I didn't know what else to say.

Suddenly she got a little sparkle in her eyes and flew into a room I figured was the pantry. After a minute I heard a grinding noise, she was feeling very happy and I reached out to figure out why.

She was happy for her husband.

Why?

Bill LOVED coffee.

Well, who would have thought we'd have that in common?

A couple minutes later she came back in beaming happily and put a coffeepot on the stove. I had to remind myself that she knew what she was doing and people made coffee for hundreds of years before Mr. Coffee and paper filters. The elder Sarah had stepped outside, I could hear her reminding the children to wash their hands and faces before coming to the table. From the giggling I heard outside, she'd apparently included her older brother in her remarks just to tease him, and the children thought that was pretty funny.

As all this was going on, Caroline had opened the bacon with a soft "Oh my gracious" (there were immediate delicious visuals in her head about what she was going to do with the bacon) and the tea, which made her smile. She was fond of tea, but had been forced to make her own from local trees and shrubs, but it wasn't the same I guess. I was glad she had calmed down and I was very happy that the items I had with me could add a little pleasure to their lives.

Before Lorena destroys it, my inner voice reminded me. I had to squelch the immediate sense of sadness this thought brought up. I reminded myself my first priority was to get back to where I came from. Bill was going to become a vampire and nothing could change that.

Right?

I tried to help Caroline get the last few items to the table without getting in her way since I hated standing there doing nothing. "Please sit down" She said "We'll be eating in a moment" .

At that point everyone else piled back into the kitchen from the chilly morning outside and settled into their accustomed places at the table. Since there were so many other smells in the kitchen with the wood burning stove and the various dishes Caroline had been making, I guess Bill just didn't notice the coffee brewing as he sat down. Or maybe, it had been years since he'd smelled it and he'd just forgotten.

"Tommy, it's your turn to say grace please" His wife prompted. We all bowed our heads and listened to Tommy recite a simple grace in his clear, calm little boy voice. (like I said, Bill mini me) Everyone started passing dishes around, I was careful not to take too much of anything.

Caroline got up and went to a hutch with china on it, she took a cup and saucer to the stove and poured some of the coffee into it. Then she walked over to the table and put it in front of Bill. Bill just stared at the cup, stunned by what he was seeing and smelling.

"Caroline! When did you buy coffee?" He exclaimed, as his children and sister looked on with open expressions of surprise. Inherent in his question was "where did you get the money", but he didn't have to spell that out to her. She quickly explained, which drew all eyes back to me. I shrank down in my seat a little. I'd never intended my simple gifts to cause such a ruckus, but I should have known better. My Gran always said I was going to regret not listening more closely to her meetings and gosh darn it, she was right.

Bill studied me closely, this was the closest I'd seen to him acting like "my Bill". He was concerned about how I'd gotten ahold of such expensive items and now he was even more concerned I wasn't telling the whole truth about my "malady". Fortunately, his manners overrode all that for the moment and all he said was "Well, we thank you for your generosity. This really is too much….."

I jumped in before he could get any farther "Mr. Compton, I truly appreciate your family taking me in and sheltering me. Who knows what might have happened. I'm not sure how I came to have these items, but I don't want them to go to waste and I'd love for your family to enjoy them. Please accept them in that spirit" It wasn't a bad speech if I do say so myself.

After another second, Bill sat back and relaxed, nodding to himself than everyone else at the table relaxed as well. Relieved, I addressed my breakfast which was hot and quite hearty. I was used to having toast ,some fruit with coffee in the morning, but these guys were having a full blown out meal.

There was a scrambled egg dish with fried potatoes and some sausage bits mixed in with some type of herbs I was having trouble identifying. There were flapjacks nice and crispy piled up. A couple jars of different preserves made from wild berries I assume sat in front of me. A slice of apple pie had been placed on my plate and a small piece of what I assumed was salt pork all fried up. A cup of milk (fresh from the cow thank you very much) was sitting next to my plate with the cream already foaming at the top. Caroline had gotten a couple more of the cups from the china hutch and poured coffee for me and Bill's sister.

As I started digging into the mountain of calories on my plate, I glanced up at Bill across the table and realized he was having some kind of coffee orgasm right there at the table. He'd taken a long studied sip and was sitting with his eyes closed, his long dark lashes feathered across his face as he practically shuddered with the pleasure of it.

Wow, and I thought I liked coffee. It was very good and the beans being freshly ground makes a big difference. All the food was good actually which surprised me. I guess when the food doesn't have to travel a thousand miles to get to you, it tastes a heck of a lot fresher. Everyone was fairly quiet while they ate, but not uncomfortably so. The children ate quietly which surprised me given what I'm used to seeing at Merlottes. I got the impression they weren't allowed to speak at the table without permission.

Once we were pretty much done and Bill was finishing his second cup of coffee, Caroline and the elder Sarah started clearing the table. I got up to help, but Caroline motioned me to stay. Bill sat back and looked at me. Uh oh, here it comes.

"After dinner, you and I will drive into town. If your people are looking for you then that's where they'll be or they may have left notices up. Someone may have information about you and what's happened. We can also check at the news office and place an ad if need be". He said with an air of someone who has made up their mind, but he seemed to think I'd contradict him.

"That would be fine" I replied. "After dinner you say"?

"Yes, that will work best. I need to get everyone started on harvesting our squash and pumpkins today first. We should have plenty of time to get to Bon Temps, make inquiries, I can take care of some business and we'll be back by dark" He said as he took a last sip of coffee.

Back by dark, okay , I'd forgotten that "dinner" was what they called lunch and "supper" was the late meal. I didn't want us coming back in the dark. With all the vampires that seemed to be roaming around here, too many things could happen.

"Are we going to try and get all of them in today"? His sister asked.

"If we get a good start, we should get most of them. Then we can finish them tomorrow" Bill answered. "We've got maybe a few more days before we get a hard frost, so it needs to be done".

"That way it will be done by Sabbath. That sounds good brother" Sarah said. That meant today was Friday. I hadn't even known what day it was. And of course they didn't work on the Sabbath, no one did except Doctors and Ministers and probably people who worked in Saloons and didn't honor the Sabbath anyway.

Bill looked at Tommy "Go get Bessie ready for the work wagon, please"

"Yes Papa" Tommy replied as he scampered off.

I piped up " I'd like to help out if I won't be in the way".

"I'm not so sure that's a good idea Sookie. You should be resting" Caroline said.

"I think the fresh air will do me good and physically I feel fine. I'd rather not sit idle" I added.

Bill gave his wife a look, then said" That would be fine. I'm sure you'll be a help. I always appreciate an extra set of hands".

The elder Sarah said " Sookie, I'll get my extra shawl for you to wear. It's a bit chilly now, although later it'll be comfortable enough".

"Papa"? came little Sarah's voice.

"Yes"?

"Can I bring my red wagon? I know I can help haul all the little squashes and pumpkins. Can I Papa"? She looked up at him imploring. Bill gave her a big smile, grabbed her and pulled her onto his lap.

"Of course" He replied. "You're always my biggest helper". She gave him a happy grin, as he gave her a big squeeze.

Did I say I was a little jealous of Caroline? Maybe not just Caroline and maybe not just a little. What was my problem? I was over Bill Compton, over, over, over him. Being friends with him would be perfectly acceptable and we'd reach a comfort level I'm sure, so why was I still feeling these little twinges of …what?

Minus Bill's wife, we'd all climbed aboard the wagon after Bill and Tommy finished hitching up Bessie. She needed to work on her kitchen garden, cutting herbs, hanging them to dry (that was all the stuff hanging under the back porch) and getting dinner ready for us. It was pretty nippy, so Bill and his son were wearing some type of work jackets on top of their regular work clothes. Bill's sister and I had shawls tied tightly around our shoulders while little Sarah had a knitted type jacket over her dress and pantaloons. I watched Bessie's gray dappled rump as we slowly made our way to the field farthest out, past poles of snap beans carefully standing propped against each other.

Once we got to the field, we all climbed out, Bill lowered the backboard of the wagon, removed little Sarah's red wagon for her, got his tools and we got started. The pumpkins and squashes were bright splashes of color against the dry tan of Autumn's ground, drying grasses and fading trees. Bill and Tommy walked ahead using small machete type knives to cut each vegetable loose, followed by Bessie pulling the wagon, then the rest of us picking them up and putting them into the wagon. To my relief none of the pumpkins were the huge kind I was used to for carving. These pumpkins were obviously intended for eating and were much smaller.

The bad news is that there were so many! Between the pumpkins and the squash, it was easily hundreds of vegetables out here and each one needed to be picked up by hand and set into the wagon gently so as to not be bruised. The elder Sarah and I picked up the bigger ones and left the little ones behind us, so little Sarah could put them in her wagon. Once she had the red wagon full, she'd go flying past us with the little squashes and pumpkins bumping along with her papoose bouncing on top. She'd yell to get Bill's attention even after he'd told her twice she didn't need to yell. She was just so excited to be helping.

With all the activity and the sun rising overhead, it started to warm up a bit. It wasn't really warm, but with all the clothes I was wearing, it was comfortable enough and we all started shedding our jackets and shawls. At first it was fun, but after a couple hours of bending and lifting, I really started feeling it. As a waitress, I thought I was in good shape walking back and forth all night with heavy trays. I was wrong.

I was trying to emulate Bill and his sister. They moved at a steady pace, never hurrying, just nice and even. Sarah was humming softly to herself, but Bill and Tommy were mostly silent. Every once in a while Tommy would ask a question and Bill would explain. Bessie kept pace behind her master, carefully stepping to avoid the vegetables ( I didn't know horses could do that) , pulling the wagon so straight, the wheels stayed between the rows and never touched a plant.

We took a brief break for water and some buttered biscuits, than kept going. I had to stop once to go pee. Does Sookie pee in the woods? Well, she does now.

Once the sun was high overhead and by this point I was sweating, aching and wondering if I was going to make it. Then we heard a bell off towards the house.

"Time for dinner" Bill said. Thank goodness! The wagon was too full of vegetables by this point, so we walked back behind it with Tommy leading the gray mare. We all cleaned up at the pump after Bill and Tommy took care of Bessie and rolled all the pumpkins and squash in to a big bin in the barn.

I was so relieved to be able to sit down for a bit. Plus, Bill had said he and I were going into town after dinner. I was just nervous about us getting back before dark. Dinner was even bigger than breakfast. There were baked beans, chicken pot pie, cornbread, more apple pie, mashed turnips, stewed carrots and more fresh milk. Little Sarah said grace this time and we began eating. I wondered if I'd be able to fit into this dress for much longer.

Bill and his wife talked back and forth about this and that she needed at the store. His sister reminded him about the mail, since she was waiting on a package. This family had a relaxed rythmn to it that I was getting used to. Everyone had their niche and filled it. Bill was the head of household officially, but I could tell from the way he listened to his wife's soft words that he took her opinions and advice seriously. His sister looked up to him, but they had an affection for each other that superseded his "ruling" over her as some men might have.

In my time, you hear a lot about "dysfunctional" families. Everyone says their family is dysfunctional, it's almost like the concept of a loving supportive family became antiquated. The Compton's were an example of a loving, supportive family. They probably didn't get along all the time, but everyone was wanted. Bill didn't resent having to take care of his sister. He loved her, she was his sister, she was his family, she was his responsibility. It was that simple.

I thought about me and my brother Jason.

My little stab of jealousy had turned into full fledged green ripened envy.

At last, Bill and I were leaving for town. The others were going to finish the rest of the field as best they could with what daylight there was while we were taking the other horse into Bon Temps. Bill came around the back with a light chestnut mare he called Molly pulling a Trap, as I lumbered my overloaded self and climbed in with Bill's help. Getting to Bon Temps in a car took less than 10 minutes on paved roads. Molly was trotting along at a nice clip, but I was figuring this trip closer to 30plus minutes at least.

We drove along in silence, which was fine by me. This Bill was as much a chatter bug as my Bill. I was trying to think of whether it would be worth my while to try and get in touch with Niall. How would I do that? The only means of communication was letters, telegraph, newspaper ads. Even though I couldn't get in touch with the Fae Realm, there had to be fairies in this world right? If I put an ad in the paper that was worded right, it might catch their attention and they could get a message to Niall, maybe? I pondered that for a few minutes. Or maybe there was a way to send him a message that would help him in the future. Hadn't Michael J Fox's character done that in one of the Back To The Future movies?

All this time travel stuff was giving me a headache. I was a simple bar maid from a small town. Maybe I should just wait to be rescued like most stupid simple blond women in storybooks.

Bill suddenly pulled Molly to a stop, turned and looked at me. I had been concentrating on my problems that I hadn't been listening to his thoughts at all, so he caught me off guard.

"Miss Northman, I don't mean to offend you with what I'm about to say, but I must speak" He started, stopped, cleared his throat, then kept on " I hold my families safety above all things. I'm not entirely convinced you've told me everything you know about your situation, so I must ask. Is there something else you'd like to add to what you've already said"?

I looked Bill in the eye, his eyes while they were same of course, didn't have that fathomless quality they carried when he was vampire. His face was shaded under the hat he was wearing, but the strong emotion I was sensing from him and seeing in his eyes moved me. Displaying emotion and experiencing it are two different things. Bill displayed calm, but he experienced powerful emotions and right now his concern for his families safety was riding the top.

I took a deep breath "Mr. Compton, I can't tell you anymore than I've already said. I can say this. I mean no harm to you or yours and as far as I know, nothing bad will happen to them due to me".

Bill studied me for a moment, then added "Miss Northman, I'm going to take you at your word. And let me say this, there is nothing I wouldn't do for my family, so if it turns out you're involved in something or running from some situation…well. I'll do what I must. Please remember that".

I nodded in understanding. Bill clucked to Molly and we continued.

I was having trouble identifying where we were and how far we had to go since the road was so different and all the familiar landmarks weren't there. There was a farmhouse here and there surrounded by outbuildings. We passed one large field that was being worked entirely by blacks. Being at the Compton's I'd kind of forgotten about all this going on in the world. I braced myself for what I might see in town.

We trotted into town which I realized we'd gotten there when I saw small neat houses with picket fencing around them. It took me a minute to realize that fencing was there for a reason, since almost every yard had chickens, ducks, pigs, gardens, laundry lines etc that all needed to be kept separate from each other. Every once in a while, someone would wave at Bill and yell "Hey there, Compton"! And he'd wave back. He didn't stop though, since he didn't want to spend time chatting.

Pulling into town was like pulling into one of those historic villages you go visit with a school group when you're a kid. And they have people dressed up in period clothing teaching you about how everyone used to live. The difference is that those historic villages are clean and friendly. The reality was different. It was so surreal, I had to keep reminding myself this was real, not a TV show or something. There were approximately a dozen or so major buildings arranged in a cross street formation with the fake wooden fronts and wooden board walks running down their fronts so women could walk from store to store without getting their dresses dirty. There were horse drawn wagons and buggies everywhere and all sorts of people going in and out of the various businesses.

I spotted a couple general stores, a barbershop/dentist , a blacksmith, a carpenter/coffin builder, a dry goods store, a feed store, a livery stable, three saloons, a hotel and goodness knows what else. My Gran would have gladly cut off her right arm to have seen all this.

Bill didn't waste any time, we started making the rounds to different businesses. Some of them he had business with, some not, but all of them he would tell them about me and I'd have to stand there being stared at with rampant curiosity by the owner. None of them had heard of anyone having lost or looking for someone like me, but they all assured Bill they'd keep an ear out.

As we walked from one to the other, I was more interested in looking at the people. Most of the women were smaller than me, I didn't see a single one that was taller. My clothes blended right in, no one took any note of them. What I did take note of was the occasional unwashed body that just about knocked me over. Until indoor plumbing became common in the 1950's, most American's bathed once a week, usually Saturday night, but even in this period, there were those who thought bathing was "unhealthy" or "immoral" and didn't believe in it. And boy oh boy, could you tell when you walked past them.

Some people had very poor clothing that looked like it was being held together with patches. I saw people with fairly new, expensive clothing, the women with elaborate lace on their sleeves and collars, skirts rustling from the many petticoats they wore. The men with silk ties around their necks, fitted coats, shiny hats and shining tie pins and cufflinks. Even though it was after the war I was surprised by the number of blacks doing business, but then a lot of them were still working for white men, just officially in a different capacity. And they looked different from most black people today who've been dating and marrying outside their community for so long you can see the diversity in their faces. These blacks looked African. They had either gotten off the boats themselves or their parents had and there was little else there. I also noticed Native Americans in town, some in 19th century clothing, some in their own traditional tribal clothes.

It was overwhelming.

All this was taking longer than I anticipated. This wasn't like the modern day, where people did their business and got out. Everyone asked Bill how he was, how his family was then he had to ask how they were and exchange the news. Bill isn't a chatty guy, but he's not unfriendly either and everyone in town appeared to know him. (I guess Bon Temps hasn't changed THAT much). We spent the longest at the Blacksmiths since Bill had to discuss getting his horses new shoes and we had to wait. The sun was falling in the sky and I was getting nervous about us getting out of town before nightfall.

Finally, we made our last stop at a big general store called Mr. Brown's General. And he was general all right, he had a little of everything. He had barrels of crackers and pickles, canned goods, (condensed milk! I didn't know they had it back then), lamps, oil, household tools, clocks, fabric, staples like sugar and salt, candy, a plow in the window, and just well everything, it was almost dizzying. It ran kind of long into the back and had a couple round tables set up near a back door that was covered by a curtain. There was another large doorway with a swinging door that ran into the business next door which was a saloon. I guess Mr. Brown liked to cover his bases of potential customers.

The man himself was short and portly, with a full brown beard and pink cheeks. Smiling seemed to be his natural expression, but since he was a shopkeeper, maybe it was just good business. His wife was a pleasant sort also, and she made me sit down at one of the tables while she fetched me some water while her husband and Bill discussed business. She started lighting some of their hanging lamps. I noticed this unhappily since I could tell the light was fading outside.

Then Bill got around to telling the Brown's my short little tale.

"Northman you say"! Mr. Brown exclaimed, stroking his beard thoughtfully. "I am almost positive one of the hotel boys mentioned a Northman checking into the hotel last night. What was his name….Edward? ..no…..Eric! That was it, Eric Northman, they mentioned he was traveling with his wife".

I was so stunned hearing the name, I barely noticed Bill turning around and giving me a studied stare. He had not mentioned Eric's name to Mr. Brown, so to him this was proof positive. I told myself maybe it was a coincidence, the name couldn't be that unusual could it?

Bill jumped right on it "How long is he staying? I should be able to go see him right now I'd expect".

"Oh, I think you need to wait a little longer" Mr. Brown said delicately.

"Why? Is there something I should know"? Bill asked.

"Well, this is how I heard it. The hotel boy, not that I trust in gossip mind you, but he said this gentleman appeared to be an albino. Very tall, huge man, very pale, and he requested, no demanded that he and his wife not be disturbed until nightfall. Paid extra, said sunlight hurts his eyes. Said they were traveling to New Orleans to catch a ship back to Europe. Both English I believe ".

" I see" Bill said. "Well, I can wait a little longer. Right Miss. Northman"? And he gave me another look, while I tried to look as innocent and unknowing as possible.

From the description alone, it had to be Eric and his Child Pam, although why they were in the United States right now and why they were leaving I hadn't a clue. I had never really discussed the when's or why's of Eric coming to America. I wasn't worried about Eric identifying me. This Eric didn't' know me. What might cause a problem is that I've had Eric's blood and he might be able to tell. Fortunately, he hasn't had my blood…..yet..so we weren't bonded so to speak. But he'd still be able to read my emotions and being called across the street …he would get suspicious about who and what I was. Eric was very astute and he'd noticed my "otherness" the first time we'd met. He'll notice this time too.

And there was nothing I could do since Bill and I had come to town for this reason. Why oh why had I used Eric's name? This was going to complicate matters.

I'd finished my water and Mrs. Brown had decided I needed some "light refreshment", so she came out with some bread and cheese and a refill for my water. Bill was still standing at the counter with Mr. Brown negociating over various items. He'd also gotten his mail, since apparently they handled the mail too. It was almost completely dark outside now, I sat politely nibbling the cheese dreading what was coming.

And as if this wasn't complicated enough.

Lorena walked in the door. And who was with her? The MS vampire king Russell Edgington of all people. She was wearing full black mourning dress like a war widow. It made my skin crawl just to look at her. I hadn't seen her since the day I'd rescued Bill from Russell's compound and I'd staked her evil ass and shoved her into Russell's pool. She was a tiny, blond woman and right now she was wearing a fake pleasant human smile to cover the monster that she was. Russell was wearing a beautifully tailored black man's suit with a gorgeous silk vest and cravat and carrying a cane of all things. He was a small man, but he looked completely comfortable and gazed around the room in a pleasant manner.

They sat at the table next to mine after glancing at me and Bill. Mrs. Brown came right over and Russell gave her his most polite southern self " Good woman, could my dear cousin and I trouble you for some light refreshment such as that young lady has in front of her there. And maybe some water"?

While Mrs. Brown fluttered off to meet his gentlemanly request, he turned to Lorena and they spoke too quietly for me to hear. Lorena would shoot a flickering glance at Bill periodically and nod at something Russell said.

I was practically shaking I was so angry. I actually caught myself looking around the shop for anything I could just shove through Lorena's stupid little body again. If Russell hadn't been sitting there I might have even tried it, but I'd seen how fast he was and they'd be watching each other's backs. That's what vampires do.

Russell nodded to Lorena again and got up and went thru the doors into the saloon. She didn't follow, I assume respectable women didn't go in there and she was pretending to be one. Wait a minute? Was that Long Shadow's voice I heard? He was in the saloon talking to Russell, I could hear their voices just not what they were saying due to the buzz of voices from the saloon. Long Shadow had died soon after I met him. Eric had staked him for stealing from him and trying to kill me on his desk in his office.

The surprises could just stop coming.

They must have been the three vampires I'd sensed last night when Bill and I got back to his house. That left Eric and Pam as the other two, but that didn't explain why they'd come up to the house. Eric would have no reason to know Bill at this point. My heart sank a little as I realized it may have been ME. If Eric could sense me carrying his blood from that distance he was definitely going to notice when he walked into this store which could be happening any minute since Mr. Brown had sent a boy across the street with a note.

And right on schedule, Eric and Pam walked in the door.

They were both dressed very well, but conservatively. Eric was wearing a similar style outfit to Russell's without the flashy vest, his was dark wool I assume to match his clothes. He had his hair tied back and tucked into his collar so it wouldn't attract attention. He had a simple gold watch chain running across his middle. Pam looked gorgeous, hair up, but not overdone. Her clothes were very high quality but not too flashy. Her dress was navy blue with a pin at the throat of her lacy collar and her waist was pulled in so small, it made me hurt just to look at it. In other words, they were trying to look like respectable upper class people, but not stand out.

Of course, Eric was going to stand out no matter what he did.

Bill and the Browns had noticed them right away of course. And so had Lorena. Russell apparently, had noticed what was going on and came back into the general store. For one moment, I thought something was going to happen. The vampires obviously didn't know about each other's presence in the town and were gauging what the other's intents were.

Being the oldest, most powerful vampire in the room Eric evaluated the room and the situation. Then, Eric relaxed and took Lorena's gloved hand in his own and bowed over it. He and Russell shook hands and he introduced Pam to them. This surprised me until I remembered that they were pretending to be humans in front of other humans.

Eric quickly determined who was Mr. Brown and he came over "I received your note and yes I do know these people here. Although, I'm at a loss as to what your purpose was with your urgent note".

Mr. Brown gave a gulp, clearly intimidated by the towering man in front of him and said "Well, sir I didn't know you knew these folks over here. That's quite a coincidence. I'd actually was trying to find out if you knew this young woman over here. Gave her name as Sookie Northman. She was found yesterday near here in a confused state and doesn't rightly know where she's from. We're hoping you might be related and could identify her".

Showtime

I stood up and trudged slowly to stand next to Bill, keeping my eyes down as much as possible. I was also trying to keep my emotions in check and not freak out. All the vampires in the room were curious about these events of course, but what scared me was the humans in the room having no idea what the vampires were.

"Young woman, you say your name is Sookie Northman"? Eric asked.

"Yes sir" I answered.

"Please raise your eyes, so I can see your face clearly" he said. He didn't need me to raise my face, he could see just fine in this horrible light. Being lit by lamps and gaslight was useful for the vampires since it made it hard to tell their skin wasn't normal.

I looked directly up at him into the big blue eyes I knew so well, or at least thought I did, some of the time. Keep calm Sookie, keep calm, no strong emotions, he'll know.

Eric could tell something was "off", I just knew he could. But what he said was "I'm sorry, I've never seen this young woman before. I would remember someone as lovely as you my dear". And he smiled at me gently.

I could practically hear Bill deflate next to me, he'd been so sure I was connected to these people. He was right of course, just not the way he thought. The Brown's had been hoping for some emotional amazing scene that they could tell people about over and over. A good story to pass along, oh well, too bad for them.

The vampires all went and sat down at the next table, as I went back to my seat. Eric sat with his back to the wall so he could see the whole room and he was watching me out of the corner of his eye, I knew he was. Lorena was still watching Bill. The vampires made polite conversation about where they were headed. They pretended to eat and drink the food and water in front of them as they spoke. Their conversation was multi-layered. If you didn't know they were vampires, it sounded pretty simple. Eric made it clear he and Pam were leaving the country which made Russell and Lorena relax considerably. I had no idea if the sheriff/fiefdom/Area government system was in place yet. Maybe the most powerful vampire just took over an area and made everyone obey him. So of course, they were happy he was leaving.

Lorena realized Eric was watching her watch Bill, so she just had to ask his opinion. I could have told her that was a mistake.

"What do you think"? She asked. Meaning: what do you think of my choice of a new vampire Child.

"When"? Eric asked. I was confused for a second, then I realized he was asking when she planned on Turning Bill.

"Tomorrow night if possible". She answered.

"He's too good for you". Eric said blandly.

Lorena froze and for a second I thought she'd launch herself across the table at Eric. Pam looked like she was going to start laughing and Russell looked terrified.

"Come now, we're all friends here" Russell said, trying to play peacekeeper.

"No we're not" Eric answered calmly.

They all went back to pretending to eat.

I could have told Lorena you ask Eric his opinion at your peril. But my amusement at Eric's insult was overruled by the fact that Bill only had 24hours with his family before he was taken from them.

"Miss Northman"! Bill apparently had been saying "my" name for a couple minutes. I must have zoned out for a second. "We're leaving now, since our business is finished". I jumped up and followed him out with the vampire's curious eyes watching our every move, but for different reasons.

We got in the Trap outside and Bill got the horse going. I tried not to look behind us or look too paranoid. I was hoping that the vampires would have some business to discuss and we'd make it back to Bill's house quickly.

Bill was mulling what had happened back in the store. He wasn't convinced Eric and I didn't know each other. Bill was too damn observant for his own good.

We had traveled for maybe ten minutes and I was starting to relax when I realized we heard a fast moving horse coming up behind us. I could feel the two voids, oh no..but which vampires were following? Bill of course wasn't concerned he just thought it was someone driving fast who needed to be somewhere.

I could feel myself starting to freak out, we were so vulnerable out here. There was literally nowhere to go. I kept telling myself to take a deep breath and pray a little.

A large black horse pulled up along side us pulling a covered buggy with trunks loaded on the back. It was Eric and Pam. I was relieved it wasn't Lorena, but reminded myself this was pre Revelation and who knows what Eric wanted?

Bill looked over and said "Yes sir, what can I do for …." His voice faded out as Eric caught him in his Glamour.

Then before you could say Jack Robinson, Pam had jumped from their buggy to our trap and was practically straddling my knees. She held my face in her hands, gazing into my eyes her fangs coming down.

"I want her" she said.

TBC

* * *

_A/N Oh Pam is such a naughty little Fledging isn't she? I hope the pacing didn't turn any of you off, but Sookie is spending time with the Comptons for a reason. The title of this story actually means something to the theme of the story. _

_Next chapter: Eric and Pam behave like vampires do, Sookie begins to wonder if she should allow Lorena to Turn Bill , and Sookie tries to think of a way to get ahold of Niall. Sookie leaves Bon Temps. _


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N As usual Charlaine Harris owns everything, I own nothing, nada, zero, zip, zilch._

_All mistakes are my own and since I finished this very late last night I wouldn't be surprised if there are a few. _

_I hope you all have a very safe, happy holiday season with your family and here's hoping CH will get off her butt and post the first chapter of book 10. I'd like to thank you all again for reading and reviewing my little Vampwich tale. We'll get to the Vampwich part eventually, trust me. _

_Now lets see what's going to happen now that Vampire Eric and Pam have ambushed Sookie and human Bill. _

* * *

If it wasn't for the 20lbs of skirt I was wearing and Pam's heavy wool skirt plus all the petticoats she was wearing ( I could hear them rustling), she would have been grinding her pelvis into my lap and I probably would have freaked out. I was pretending to be "glamoured" as best as I could since I fully realized my life depended on it. Her face was shadowed, but her eyes were clear enough staring into mine keeping "control" of me.

Bill had two lamps hanging at the front part of the trap on either side of us acting like headlights, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to see at all in this dark countryside where Eric had ambushed us. The vampires of course had no trouble seeing in the darkness.

"Get her out of the trap Pam" Eric ordered as he pulled Bill after him away from the horse drawn vehicles. They took Bill and I away from the road maybe ten feet where the grass started and laid us down. My heart was beating a mile a minute and I was trying to calm myself down. Glamoured humans didn't get upset while they were glamoured and if Eric realized I wasn't glamoured and saw them in their true form, well, I'd be a dead woman.

I had no illusions about Eric's past. The one thing he cared more about than anything else was Eric. He'd lived a very long time and had probably done horrible things to survive and I was perfectly content to let sleeping dogs lie. He wouldn't think twice about draining me and dumping my body in the woods if he saw me as a threat.

Reminding myself that Eric didn't need to kill humans to survive and Pam appeared to be a couple vampire years old, I steadied down a little as I lay in the grass near Bill looking up at the huge array of stars. With no city lights to block them out, it really was pretty. My heartbeat slowed down to normal.

They hadn't dragged us into the woods, that would have meant certain death. They probably just wanted to feed and would be on their way. Also, too many people had seen us together at Brown's General Store and this was a small town with few people. Eric would be taking a risk if he killed me and especially Bill. Not to mention Lorena would be pissed all to Hell if Eric deprived her of her new Bill Boytoy. Vampires avoid stepping on each others toes in serious matters unless they have a good reason. They're cautious that way, they have to live with each other too long and vampires never forget someone who's screwed them.

Having now thoroughly convinced myself that it was unlikely I was going to die anytime in the next few minutes, I took a peek at what Eric and his Child were doing. They were rummaging thru Bill's trap to see if there was anything good to steal. This burned me, it really did. They obviously weren't hurting for money and Bill's family needed all those things. He'd spent all day haggling for them. I remembered My Bill had told me vampires stole from their victims, but hearing it and seeing it were two different things.

"Damn farmers" Pam said with a snooty tone. Apparently, they hadn't found anything useful and Bill hadn't been carrying any currency or coin. He'd been trading for everything he needed.

Eric didn't appear surprised or concerned about Bill's lack of good stuff to steal. "It is of no matter, we'll find better in New Orleans before we board the ship. And mind your language , I don't want to hear you forgetting yourself in front of others" He added with a severe tone. He appeared to be removing his collar and cravat, probably so he wouldn't get anything on them. My wasn't he just so nice and neat to remember that before he ate supper?

After being chastised by her Maker, Pam got over it quickly and flashed back to me, petticoats making all kinds of racket as she straddled me. As long as she didn't try to do any sex type stuff to me, I actually was okay with her biting me since if Eric bit me he was going to know something was "wrong". This Eric hadn't had my blood, but I'd had Eric's blood back in my own time. Who knows what would happen if he bit me?

Isn't it possible for me to get lucky just once?

I guess not.

"Pam, you will feed on the man, I will take her" Eric said.

"But Eric…." Pam was whining like a teenager who'd had her cell phone taken away.

"The man is bigger, you need more than I do and I want to check something with this female". He said, his voice brooking no argument.

Pam got off of me (I swear she was pouting) and trudged over to Bill, making faces at her Maker's back. If Eric knew what she was doing (and he probably did), he didn't care. Eric kneeled on the ground next to me as he unbuttoned a few of his top shirt buttons. I thought he was being excessive, but then it wasn't like he could just throw the shirt in a washing machine if it got blood on it.

After replicating her Maker's actions with regards to her lace collar, pin and buttons, I heard Pam jerking on Bill's clothing. It appeared she was pulling his suspenders down, than pulling down his pants after unbuttoning them. It took me a second to figure out what the hell she was doing. She was going to feed on his femoral artery to hide the marks. If they'd fed on our necks, it would have been too obvious if both of us noticed later. The average person doesn't look in between their legs much do they?

Eric sat and watched his Child feed first, probably making sure she didn't do something foolish. Pam growled as she bit into Bill's leg. We could hear the sucking and a soft moan escaped Bill as well from the sensations. Even a glamoured person will feel it having blood sucked out of a major artery that way. Eric was getting excited watching her, his fangs had slid down into place. Once she was finished and licking the wounds closed on Bill's leg, Eric turned to me.

It was so hard to keep still and not DO something with the big vampire hovering over me in the dark. He was so pale and he had that faint glow that all vampires have. I reminded myself to just hold still and not react to anything. I kept telling myself that once I realized his big hands were pulling up the 20lbs of skirts. Thank goodness for the woolen stockings, otherwise I don't think I could have stood it.

I knew when he had them all the way up because the cool night air was reminding me of my crotchless drawers. He was murmuring something softly in his own language as he pushed my legs apart. Resting one hand right on the till as it were and the other on my knee, he leaned over inhaling deeply and nuzzling the V he'd created.

Suddenly, I realized acting "glamoured" was going to be a problem. My body didn't know the difference between this extremely dangerous Eric and sorta dangerous mostly friendly Eric and was reacting to his actions like this was all friendly good fun. My body was going to get me killed.

I remembered a documentary I'd seen on Animal Planet about puppy mills. It had been horrible, dead, dying puppies crying in their own filth, their poor mothers forced to breed constantly to generate as much money as possible with no thought given to the welfare of the dogs. I focused on those images.

One large cool hand undid the ties holding up my stocking as the other rested between my legs like it had a right to be there. Eric rubbed his cheek against my leg and up, his lips brushing gently against ,deadpuppies,deadpuppies,deadpuppies,deadpuppies,deadpuppies,deadpuppies. Now he was scraping his fangs against the soft flesh of my inner thighs, savoring the moment. I had to remind myself to breath. Deadpuppies, deadpuppies,deadpuppies,deadpuppies,deadpuppies,deadpuppies,deadpuppies. Fangs bit down into my thigh, the sharp pain balanced by my body betraying me, apparently thinking hot vampire sex would ensue immediately. Deadpuppies, deadpuppies, deadpuppies, deadpuppies, deadpuppies, deadpuppies, deadpuppies. Eric started sucking and moaning like there was no tomorrow. Deadpuppies, deadpuppies, deadpuppies, deadpuppies, OH MY GOD, DEAD PUPPIES, DEAD PUPPIES!

Then praise Jesus, it was over and Eric was licking my inner thigh in a perfunctory manner. He sat back on his haunches licking his lips. The only thing missing was the cigarette. In the darkness, the blood looked black against his glowing face. That didn't bother me, I got used to seeing blood while I was still dating My Bill. But, Eric had a thoughtful expression on his face and that did bother me. He glanced over at Pam who was still sitting sprawled on the grass next to Bill.

"How was he"? He asked.

"Surprising" She answered.

"Really"? Eric said and he moved over to Pam and began licking her mouth, trying to lap up a few drops of Bill's blood to see what she was talking about. Pam sat back, supporting herself on her hands, as she allowed Eric to lick and kiss her mouth. I guess she had already moved on from her initial attraction to her Maker since she appeared unmoved by his actions.

"Interesting" Eric said as he sat back again, looking down at Bill. He leaned forward, gently stroking Bill's face and smelling his scent. " I guess Lorena isn't as stupid as I thought. But it will be a struggle keeping this one with her".

"What do you mean"? Pam asked. I was glad she did, because I was wondering what Eric meant too.

"She wants him because he possesses characteristics she lacks. But that is what will drive them apart in the end. And he is content with his human life. He will hate being a vampire. She'll be lucky if he doesn't meet the sun his first year". Eric explained as he continued petting Bill like he was a cute puppy. "However, on the positive side, he is attractive but he does not stand out. He is intelligent and a survivor. Some of these scars are not from farming. He's seen the battlefield, probably the recent war. I guess we shall see".

His words made me sad, thinking about Bill's undead future. This was stupid of me however, since Eric noticed. His head jerked around towards me and he flashed back.

"Now this one is a puzzle" he said, gazing down at me. I wished he'd pull my skirts back down. It was humiliating lying here like this, not to mention certain body parts were getting a little nippy. He leaned closer, staring at my face I could feel little power tweaks wash over me as he applied his glamour. "I've never seen this girl before, but it almost feels like she's …." And he cut himself off, puzzling over why he was picking up bits and pieces of my emotional state.

"Well, you heard the humans at the store. She's suffering from some kind of brain malady and is having problems with her memory" Pam reminded him.

"That's not it" Eric said definitively. "There's something else about her". Well, crap, I'd know Eric would pick up on my "otherness" especially now that he'd had my blood.

"Who are you"? He commanded with his deep voice.

It suddenly occurred to me that Eric had possibly known my Great Grandfather Niall for hundreds of years and probably knew how to get in touch with him. He wouldn't be able to call him on his cell phone like he does in my time, but I'm sure all the supes had ways of communicating in this day and age. If I told him the truth (while pretending to be glamoured), Eric might get word to Niall. But I was taking a huge chance.

"My name is Sookie Stackhouse" I answered with the flat, unemotional voice that glamoured humans seem to use.

"Why are you pretending your name is Northman"?

"None of these people can know who I really am and where I come from".

"Explain"

Here goes nothing. "I am from Bon Temps in the future. I've ended up here by accident (hey, he doesn't need to know details does he?) after being attacked by a fairy. I am related to the Fairy Prince Niall Brigant". That pretty much summed it up I guess. I'd like to see Marty Mcfly explain better.

Eric sat back stunned, digesting this information as I heard Pam laughing behind him. "You don't honestly believe what she's saying do you"? She asked. "Her mind is obviously addled".

"Then how does she know the name and title of one of the few remaining fairy princes"? Eric asked. Pam was silent. "The Fae don't spend all their time in this world and they are very magical. Who knows what they're capable of doing? But if she is really related to Niall……it would explain the flavor of her blood…..". His voice trailed off as he debated with himself.

"What are you trying to do"? He asked. That was the Eric I knew, always down to brass tacks.

"I need to get back to my time. The longer I'm here the more likely I'll affect history. I need to get in touch with Niall, so he can have me brought back". At least, I hoped he could get me back. I was operating on the theory that this was some sort of magical mistake and that the Fae could magic me back somehow. Or if they couldn't , they might know some witches who could help out. Hey, if witches can bring warriors across dimensions then jumping thru time should be piece of cake right?

Then I decided to throw my Aces on the table. "You can contact him and tell him I need help". I added.

"And how would I do that"? he asked suspiciously.

" I know that you know him" I stated flatly.

"Who told you this"?

"You did" I answered. That shocked Eric into silence again.

"Eric, she sounds mad" Pam said. "What she's saying is absurd".

"Then how does she know that I know the Prince. I've never met you, how could I have told you anything"? Eric was still having trouble getting his head around the "future" thing. I was going to have to drop something a little more concrete to push him.

"I know you in the future and your vampire Child Pam. I only recently met Niall and he said you two have known each other for a very long time" I said. I could hear them both hissing, as they realized that I knew what they were.

"Eric! How does she know….'? Pam demanded. She was still a young enough vampire that her emotions came across and the fear in her voice was evident. Eric must have explained how imperative it was that they keep their existence hidden.

He thrust his face down in front of mine, I could feel him pressing his will upon me as he became alarmed by this turn of events. "How did you know we were vampires"?

It was all I could do to not get impatient. "You and I know each other in the future. We're kind of friends".

He laughed at this statement. "Friends? With a human? Maybe Pam is right, maybe you are mad". But he became thoughtful again, sitting back and retying his collar and cravat. I really wished he would pull my skirts back down or my ladybits were going to turn into popsicles.

"Eric, maybe we should drain her. Perhaps it would be too dangerous to leave her alive"? Pam suggested. I wished Pam would shut up and not put ideas in Eric's head.

"No, it's possible that she's a witch or a mystic or a seer of some type. But if she's related to Niall, then he would end up owing me a favor by letting him know where she is" Eric mused. Leave it to Eric to think of the situation in terms of how he could help himself. And as smart as he is, he couldn't get his mind around the "time travel" concept. It made more sense to him that I was some kind of visionary or something. It had never occurred to me to coach my statements in these terms, he would have been more likely to believe them.

As he finished putting his clothes back together, he jerked his head towards Bill. "Does this other human know about us"? He asked.

"No, he has no idea" I responded firmly. Bill had enough bad stuff coming to him without Eric thinking he was a threat. Finally, he pulled my skirts back down and he cocked his head to the side curiously as he did so.

"Pam, get your clothing together, we're going in a moment. And come here, there's something I want to show you". He said. As they both hovered over me, he added "Do you notice anything unusual about her"?

Pam shook her head. Eric smiled as he said " Do you remember what I said about the absence of things being important"?

"Her scent"! Pam exclaimed.

"Exactly, I noticed it back at the store. She had virtually no personal scent which is impossible. Whether it is Fae magic or witchcraft I don't know. But its important to be aware of weapons that may be used against us" He stated as he was concluding How To Spot a Freaky Human 101. My lack of scent combined with the blood connection had been enough to get his attention.

Apparently, my sweating and the brief washcloth bath I'd given myself hadn't been enough to overcome the spray that my fairy cousin Claudine had doused me and my clothes with. I was going to kill Claudine when I got back, IF I ever got back. I was just lucky Eric already thought he knew the answer to why I had no scent. He was assuming it was some kind of spell and that was fine by me.

"Pam, let's be on our way. Don't forget to replace the man's memory" Eric said, still speaking in a lecturing mode. He pulled me to my feet and walked me back to the trap, where Molly was still standing patiently waiting. She'd turned her head and looked at Bill a couple times, probably wondering why her master was taking a nap on the ground. Eric proceeded to give me an "alternate" memory to replace what had just happened. He didn't want me remembering them or being fed on of course. Pam was doing the same thing to Bill, something about Bill stopping to relieve himself by the side of the road.

Then they jumped into their own buggy, Eric slapped the reins on their horse and they clattered off into the darkness. I was beyond relieved. That could have gone badly in so many ways I couldn't begin to count them. Whether Eric would actually attempt to contact Niall I had no idea. And even if he did, he might wait until he reached Europe before doing so. So I was back to square one for now.

Bill seemed a little disoriented as people usually are while coming out of a glamoured state. His thoughts were a little muddy and confused, but started settling down as he focused on driving Molly and the road. I kept silent and focused on what I was going to do if Lorena kept to her plan and took Bill tomorrow night. Bill's family depended on him so much, I couldn't imagine what they would do if he disappeared and how I would fit into it. The thought of being a burden was difficult enough with Bill there, but with him gone?

And it hadn't occurred to me until just now how much I would miss him. Even though this Bill didn't know me, it was comforting to have him here in this Bon Temps of the past. He reminded me of the positive things of My Bill, minus the secrets, the lying, and the sneaky vampire crap.

And what if I never made it back? What if no one could figure out where I was and the Eric that just left forgot about me as he made his way back to Europe. What was I going to do? Options for women during this period were limited, I knew that from history classes and my Gran. A heavy pit started settling in my stomach at what my future would look like if I couldn't get out of here.

Taking a deep breath, I held back the tears. I was going to think positive!

My Eric had survived the attack, I'm sure and even right now he and Niall were working out a plan on how to find me. Or this current Eric, being as opportunistic and self-serving as My Eric, would contact Niall in this time period and tell him about me. Niall would be curious, check out the situation and figure out what to do.

I just had to believe this.

I just had to.

Bill was quiet next to me. He was thinking about the deals he'd made today with regards to trades and was going to go over them all with his wife to see what she thought. He'd been lucky this year and his harvests were coming up very well which gave him extra produce to trade, but he didn't want to short his family for the winter either. If his son had managed to finish the rest of the pumpkins and squash, then he was going to try and pull the turnips tomorrow and potatoes next week. He had it all planned out in his head how he was going to finish harvesting , provide for his family and get out of debt.

It made me sick to think of what was going to happen to him instead.

Before I could get any sadder, he suddenly spoke "Miss Northman, I'm sorry we weren't able to find your folks today. We'll see about placing ads or checking with the various sheriff's office's next week. Don't you worry".

"Thank you for taking me today, I'm just sorry we wasted your time. I know you need to finish getting your crops in" I replied as sincerely as I could.

"Perhaps as you recover, you'll come to remember where you're from, that will help of course". Bill said, glancing at me sideways.

"Yes, it would". I answered, nodding along. Fortunately, we'd pulled up to the Compton house. Bill pulled Molly up to the back porch, obviously intending on letting me off before taking her into the barn and putting her away for the night. But now I was afraid to leave him alone, afraid that Lorena might change her mind and grab him tonight after Eric's little dig at the store. "I'll help you" I blurted out, "That way you don't have to carry everything inside by yourself".

He looked at me oddly, but nodded and pulled us into the barn. I was scanning like mad for any vampire "voids", but none appeared to be around. All I could sense were the rest of the Compton's in the house relaxing and waiting for us to get back. After Bill opened the big door and got Molly unstrapped from the rig and her harness and various equipment off ( I think I got in the way more than anything). Molly let out a big sigh once all the leather straps and collar were lifted off. Even in the dim light emitted by the two lamps, I could see the other horse Bessie sticking her gray head over her door to check out what was going on and their cow's shiny nose sniffing above her door as well. They must have had the loft stuffed full with hay and straw because the smell of fresh grasses was overwhelming. Bill was murmuring softly to Molly as he rubbed her down in her stall and poured some grain into her little trough.

"Could you bring some of that hay over here for her please"? Bill asked. I looked over to where he was pointing and saw a pile of hay in some sort of planked crib. Grabbing as big a bundle as I could, I brought it over and put it in Molly's manger. Molly's ear was turned towards Bill listening to whatever he was saying and she gave him a little friendly push with her nose before she turned to her food.

He checked the other animals first to make sure they'd been tended to, I assume by his son. Then he took one of the lanterns and went to the other side where the large storage bins were. Lifting the lids, he peered at the vegetables carefully, very pleased with what he saw. I was reading his satisfaction that his son appeared to have finished getting the pumpkins and squash into storage, so they could start on the turnips tomorrow. Bill was very happy and proud of his son being so responsible and hardworking. His love for his children filled him so much it was almost like he was glowing like a lantern himself.

It was getting harder and harder to think of what was going to happen to him with detachment. I'd been telling myself that it was a forgone conclusion and it had to happen since I wasn't here to mess with historical events, was I?

Wasn't I?

After Bill secured the barn door, we carried the items we'd gotten in town up to the back door and were let in by Tommy. Once again, everyone swept into the warm kitchen and greeted us, checking out the items we'd gotten. His sister eagerly checking the bundle of mail I handed to her.

Caroline waved us to the table for our dinner that she'd been keeping warm. As we sat down, the children came and stood next to the table eyeing Bill in an expectant manner. They didn't say anything, but I could read that they were hoping Bill had brought some candy from town. Little Sarah squealed as Bill handed her a little lumpy cloth bag apparently filled with sugary sweets. I had to stop myself from blurting out "Don't forget to brush your teeth", since it was unlikely any of them owned a toothbrush.

Bill hesitated for a second before handing a similar bag to Tommy and said "You did a good job today. I couldn't have done it better myself" Giving Tommy's shoulder a squeeze for good measure, he smiled at his son. Tommy swelled up and stood a little straighter as he followed his excited younger sister's running footsteps back into the front room near the fire.

The elder Sarah met her brother's eyes and added "He knew exactly what to do kept everything moving along. We got done early".

"Maybe you all don't need me" Bill joked.

Sarah shook her head at her brother's joke and bent her head over the mail under the lamp Caroline had lit on the table.

"I made Hoppin' John" Caroline stated as she put the bowls of stew in front of us with some toasted bread and cups of water. I didn't think I would be hungry after the huge breakfast and the even larger dinner, but I guess all the activity had burned up some calories. I dug into my bowl as voraciously as Bill did. It had black eye's peas, rice and she'd definitely used some of the bacon I'd given her.

Once we'd had a few minutes to eat and settle in, Caroline asked how it had gone in town. Bill filled her in on everything we'd done and what had happened at the General Store. Her and Sarah both remarked on how extraordinary it was that someone with the same last name was staying at the hotel. I let him do the talking especially since they didn't need to know we'd been ambushed by two vampires on the way back and had our blood sucked out of us.

After all this, we all went into the front room and sat next to the fireplace. The elder Sarah read aloud from the newspaper which had recently started printing again, now that they had paper and ink. While it was fascinating listening to news of a bygone era, it gave me a little more time to brood about what was going to happen to Bill.

Eric had been dead on accurate in his observations. Bill WAS content. I've read the minds of so many people in my life, I can't even begin to count them and most of them seem to have some dissatisfaction with their lives. They always want more of this or that, they hate their job, or they're unhappy about who they're married to or how their kids are turning out. Bill didn't feel any of those things. He liked being a farmer, he loved his family, he felt lucky to be here with them and he was perfectly content with his life.

I've never met anyone like this in my entire life. Even my Gran, who always believed in putting a positive spin on the trials of life, never possessed this level of equanimity.

So I sat miserably listening to the Compton's discuss the news and the plans for tomorrow, next week, next month, next year, oblivious to the fact that the man who's shoulders all these plans rested on, wasn't going to be here. When Caroline announced it was time for bed, I was relieved.

As I removed my dress, corset and other gear, I became more aware of how uncomfortable I was from not having taken a real shower or bath in what…three days? And tomorrow, I'd have to put everything back on again. I don't know how Bill's family could stand it, but I guess you get used to it. And while they smelled sweaty and dusty, they didn't stink STINK, you know? Not like homeless people do. But tomorrow was Saturday and if the Compton's were like most church going types of this era, that meant bathing night. I'd have to talk to Caroline about washing my clothes later in the week, if I was still here. If Niall found me, would he show up? Or would he just "pop" me out of here?

If he popped me out of here, before Bill's abduction then that would alleviate some of the responsibility from my shoulders regarding what was going to happen. Snuggling under the covers after making another scan for voids around the house, I was satisfied that no vampires were in evidence. My muscles ached from all the unfamiliar field work and were probably going to hurt worse tomorrow.

Relaxing my shields and stretching my legs, I suddenly felt lust coming from upstairs. Bill having spent half his day talking to shopkeepers instead of busting his butt like he usually did, was grasping the opportunity to use some of that extra energy making love to his wife. As curious as I was, I put my shields back up again since I just couldn't allow myself to invade their privacy that way.

And I felt a tear slide down my face as I tried to fall asleep as Bill unknowingly made love to his wife for the last time.

* * *

The next day started pretty much the same as the previous one. Falling asleep hadn't been a problem since I'd been woken so early and with all the work we'd done. The elder Sarah came in with hot water again and helped me get myself together, asking me gently if I were "feeling better" which was her way of inquiring whether I had remembered anymore about my past. I didn't know what I was going to do if I ended up here for any length of time, trying to pretend I had amnesia.

Breakfast was hot, delicious, and huge again. Bill was sitting very contentedly at the table since he'd gotten some lovin' the night before and was enjoying the coffee. As far as he was concerned, all was right with the world.

I tried not to think of how wrong he was as we made our way out to the fields again. Since Tommy had gotten so much done the day before, we were going to bring in the snap beans that had been pulled up and were standing up leaning against their stakes and we were going to really have fun and pull turnips. I thought picking up the pumpkins the day before had been hard, oh how wrong I had been. Pulling turnips that didn't want to leave the cool ground just yet was backbreaking work. Tommy was loosening them with a wooden hoe (to avoid accidently cutting them I guess) and the rest of us would walk behind pulling.

Caroline had gotten lucky and stayed behind to do other housework and cook dinner, I guess. I envied her. The only good part about my back crying out about how mean I was being to it was that I didn't have time to think about Lorena and Bill.

It was hard though, watching Bill. Every time he straightened his back and stretched a little (made me feel a little better for being such a weenie), he would gaze at the few wispy clouds drifting across the clear blue sky and I would want to just burst out crying and blab the whole thing to him. All that would accomplish is get me sent to a madhouse I'm sure and upset the whole family. Lorena was almost 200years old at this point, she would be patient. If she didn't get him tonight, she'd just get him later. There was nothing I could do to stop it. I kept telling myself that over and over.

So I trudged along making conversation with Bills' sister off and on, swimming in my despair, pulling turnips. The dinner bell rang, so we made our way back to the house and sat down to another huge dinner. Boy, these people really ate, but none of them were fat. I guess no junk food and hard labor all day will take care of that for you.

The sun did its usual late fall arch across the sky, sending its dance of colors as it started dropping to the horizon. As we finished all our work and took everything back to the barn, I realized I was numb. My body was numb from the work and my brain was numb from Bill's impending death. Bill and Tommy had gotten some pails and were filling them with water to be heated on the big stove in the kitchen once supper was done. While Bill was pumping, he stopped for a moment to gaze at the sunset. I wondered if he would remember it later once he was a vampire. For some reason, I had to comment.

"Sunsets are so pretty, aren't they"? I said.

"I don't know" He drawled in a relaxed tone " I think I like sunrises better".

"Why"? I was curious.

"You've got the whole day ahead of you to accomplish anything you put your mind to. The potential of the day is like a gift from God". He said with a smile.

"When you put it that way, I guess I'd have to agree with you" and I smiled back, but I was shocked a little. I knew Bill had been a churchgoer when he was alive, but hadn't thought that he would have any real faith. Or maybe, it was easier to believe that he hadn't had any.

I was pretty much glazed over during most of supper, the various conversations between the adults about letters received from family the day before and news Bill had heard in town was all background noise. I probably didn't hear half of what was said to me, but afterward when Bill went outside into the now total darkness to get a washtub for our bath's, a knot started forming in my belly.

Of course, that would be Lorena's opportunity. Bill would have to go in and out of the house numerous times to refill the pails with water, put them on the stove and then dump the tub after each person bathed. There were six of us, so he'd be making a lot of trips alone. The children were to take their baths first, then the adults. Bill's wife and sister were busy with the children's clothing, towels for all of us, getting soap, washcloths etc.

When Tommy was taking his bath behind a screen that had been set in front of the tub, blocking it and the stove from view, Bill had gotten a smaller bowl and filled it with hot water. He took out a box containing shaving items, threw a towel over his shoulder to wipe his face and got started.

When he came back into the front room where we ladies were sitting, he looked exactly as he had the day I'd met him in Merlottes.

Now, I was afraid.

Bill's sister jolted me out of my racing thoughts "Sookie, you can go ahead of me"

"Oh, thank you" I answered on autopilot. Without thinking, I went into my room and got my bag. As I set it down next to the tub which had steam rising above the wonderful hot water, it occurred to me what I was thinking.

The spoon in my bag that had split would make an excellent stake.

What was I thinking? Bill not becoming a vampire would change a lot of things for a lot of people, starting with his family for one. Bon Temps was a small town and many of the families were interrelated in some way, how would that be affected? What if I changed MY family's history? What then? And that wasn't even considering how Bill affected the lives of all the vampires he'd met, including Eric. Did I even have the right to consider this?

The decision was made for me when I realized I sensed a void outside hovering near Bill who was at the water pump again. A "jump" that I'd come to associate with vampires moving at high speed occurred and Bill wasn't at the pump any longer. I grabbed my bag and ran out the back door.

Of course, like an idiot I forgot how dark it was. Allowing my eyes to adjust, I dropped my shields and felt for Bill's mind since it would be sending out strong signals right now. Grabbing a long stick off the woodpile as I passed it, I made my way past the smokehouse, the outhouse and into the woods beyond. I used the stick to poke ahead of me, so I wouldn't run into anything.

Using Bill's mind like a homing beacon, I stumbled through the woods, following it like a ship uses a lighthouse to find a friendly shore. He was giving off fear of course, but it was clamped down by sheer will and his confusion over what was really happening dominated his mind. I came to a small clearing and fortunately the clouds had passed and allowed some of the half moon to shine on the scene before me.

Lorena had him down on the ground, and Bill was doing his best to struggle against her which wasn't going to work of course. It took me a minute to figure out why she hadn't just glamoured him. I guess Lorena is one of those vampires who likes to play with her food. She was murmuring to him softly and I couldn't hear what she was saying, but Bill's responses came out loud and clear "No! No!" Then she'd speak some more "NO! NO!" He cried out.

If she hadn't been distracted by Bill, she'd have heard me and it would have been all over. If I hadn't been sprayed by my goofy fairy cousin, she would have smelled me and it would have been all over too. But Lorena couldn't smell me and didn't notice any small noises I was making over Bills' thrashing and yelling.

Any minute now, she'd sink her fangs into him and ….what was I doing?

I pictured Bill proudly complimenting his son on the work he had done.

I remembered the little wink he'd given his wife over his coffee cup that morning as a little reminder of what they had done the night before.

I thought about all the things he'd accomplished as a vampire and the long long life he'd had.

I remembered how it felt when he left me for the vamp-ho who was on top of him right now and how I'd felt when I staked her.

I remembered how devastated I'd been when Eric had forced him to tell me about the Queen's Edict. And what about the Queen? My cousin Hadley was still going to rat me out and Sophie would send someone. If no Bill then who knows?

And I thought about all the lives I was messing with and or destroying by the single act of preventing Bill from becoming a vampire.

And I realized if I hadn't met Bill, I'd definitely be the oldest virgin in Renard Parish.

I grabbed the split spoon out of my bag with my right hand, used my left hand to raise my 20lbs of skirt….then I ran at the vampire ho.

I never made it.

* * *

It was almost like the ground swallowed me up.

The all encompassing black more pure than any night took me again.

There was silence again, but it felt almost comforting this time.

And here came the light.

* * *

I was lying on the ground again, wondering how on earth I was going to get this dress clean to return back to Betty Jackson. Everything and I do mean everything HURT. If my previous little trip had felt like a fender bender afterward, this was more like a rear ending crash at forty miles per hour.

I cracked one eye open and was relieved to see a bright blue sky overhead. The air was brisk and cool which was helping me clear my groggy head. I heard a man's deep voice and suddenly realized I wasn't alone.

A shadow over my face made me open both eyes. There were three men standing over me looking down. My vision was still a little blurry, but they seemed to have long hair, beards and be wearing fur coats.

FUR COATS?!

I struggled to sit up, trying to get a better look at them. Their voices continued, but in some strange foreign language that sounded vaguely familiar getting more excited as I pulled myself into a sitting position. One of them reached down, grabbed my arm and hauled me to my feet. I gasped a little at the pain of standing and it came to my notice from our close proximity that he didn't smell very good as I stared at his very red beard.

That was a minor problem though, since we were in physical contact I was getting a definite read from him and even without knowing his language, his intentions were clear. He wasn't going to kill me. He was going help me after helping himself first.

And his friends were going to help themselves too.

I started pulling away from him barely looking at any of them as I yelled " NO! NO! NO! " repeatedly hoping there was someone around who could help me. I could hear them chuckling as I wildly whipped my head around to see where I was.

We were standing in an open field of grass so green it hurt your eyes to look at it. About a hundred yards away was a cliff and beyond that an open sea, the scent of which I was just now noticing.

The other two men started crowding close, any minute now they'd have me in their grasp and I wouldn't be able to escape. Reminding myself that these were just humans, no vampires or Weres or fairies, I half turned so he wouldn't see what I was doing. Making an open fist with my thumb on the outside the way Jason had taught me, I swung around dropping a bit as I did so and nailed the guy's balls with the heel of my hand.

He went crashing down, bellowing and let me go as he grabbed his precious family jewels. His friends were caught off guard and started yelling, but I managed to get past them and started running.

I was in total panic mode, the adrenaline kicking in high gear, the pain I'd felt disappearing as my survival instincts switched on. I would NOT allow them to get me. That would not happen to me again, it would not!

Screaming mindlessly at the unfairness of it all, I felt tears streaming down my face as I ran toward the cliff, my one thought to just get away.

Just as I was getting close to the cliff, my legs were struck and I went down hard on the ground. Shaking so hard my teeth were chattering, I twisted around to see what had happened.

I stared up at a very tall man with long blond hair and full beard. He was wearing a fur across his body attached at the shoulder with leather pants and wrappings around his legs and feet. He gazed down at me with large blue eyes, an amused smile playing across his lips as the sunlight struck his tanned face.

It was Eric.

* * *

TBC

_A/N : I'm going to try to post the next chapter before Xmas, but that may be my own folly. You all know how it is this time of year. The next chapter of course will feature human Eric. _


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N Charlaine Harris owns everything, I own nothing, nada,zero,zip, zilch. _

_I have no beta and considering how late I stayed up finishing this, there are probably a few boo boos. _

_I told you all I'd try to have this up before Xmas, so I made it. The chapter is a little shorter than normal for me, but since my chapters tend to be ungodly long anyway...._

_I'd like to thank all of you for rolling with Sookie's little time travel journey, and those of you putting this story on alert. And to those of you who take the time to leave me a review, I really appreciate every single one!_

* * *

Shaking like a sapling in a violent storm, I craned my neck to stare up at Eric. He was standing casually like we were on a street corner having a conversation. His sword was pulled out and he was swinging it playfully at the grass while smiling down at me speculatively. His "buddies" were running up to him yelling, Mr Red Beard clutching himself between the legs as he did so.

The cliff was ten feet behind me and I was so freaked out I couldn't get a read on what he intended to do so I played the only card I had left.

"Eric"! I yelled with as much conviction as I could muster. I put all the authority into my voice that I could considering my position on the ground.

The reaction was immediate. His facial expression changed immediately from bemusement to serious concern. Blue eyes became slits as he seemed to be trying to determine if we knew each other and who I was. As his buddies slid to a stop next to him, Red Beard made like he was going to haul off and hit me, but Eric put his hand up and said something that sounded like an order.

Thank God.

It appeared that Eric was in charge of these yahoos. If I could get him on my side, or at least not against me, than I might stand a chance.

Eric said something to the three of them, it almost sounded like a question. The same startled look came over their faces at the same time, it was almost comical, and they started babbling at once. Even without being able to understand their language, I could comprehend that there were excuses being made. With an annoyed look, Eric pointed around them in a sweeping gesture and raised his voice in a commanding manner. They immediately all trotted off in three different directions, appearing to be scoping the area.

I took a deep shuddering breath at not having to make some kind of Sophie's Choice with regards to my virtue or my life. I seemed to have bought some time at least. Glancing up at Eric again, I realized he was studying me closely now. He made a "get up" gesture with his free hand. Struggling to my feet, since I was still shaking a bit and hurting from the last time jump, I noted Eric made no effort to help me. I guess chivalry hadn't been invented yet.

He spoke again, this time slowly and deliberately, his deep voice a soft rumble, obviously explaining something to me. This was going to be awkward.

"I'm sorry, I don't understand you" I said, reminding myself to not raise my voice the way people tend to do when they're speaking to someone foreign. Not knowing what else to do, I pointed at myself and said "My name is Sookie Stackhouse from Bon Temps, Louisiana". I hadn't the vaguest idea why I told him I was from Louisiana since it's not like he'd know where it was not to mention it technically doesn't exist yet since the United State doesn't exist yet. Oh well, it sounded good. Eric got that familiar frown that I knew so well when he was perplexed about something. His pale coral lips moving silently like he was trying to sound out what I just said. It was time to try something simpler.

I tapped myself on the chest and said "Sookie". Then I pointed at him and said "Eric".

Comprehension flooded his face, he repeated the gesture, pointing at himself saying his name and then pointing at me saying mine. His accent was so different however that if I hadn't already known what names he was saying, I wouldn't have been able to recognize them. He emphasized the first syllable of his name and mine, well, it sounded more like SSUUUKYAA.

Oh well, I could live with that. I could feel my lips pulling into my nervous smile as I wondered what was going to happen next. We had probably reached the limit of our communication. Even if Eric had spoken English it probably would have been like something out of Beowulf, which I had been forced to slog through in High School.

Eric slid his sword into its holder which I thought was a good sign. He reached out for me with both hands, causing me to step back in alarm and tensing. He raised both hands up in the universal gesture of nonaggression and spoke in a soothing tone. I relaxed as much as I could. He circled my wrist with his hands, examining the fabric and lace, rubbing the cloth with his thumbs. Like Bill had done, he turned my hands over, studying my fingers and lightly brushing them with his own.

Stepping closer, he studied me closely looking at my face, my hair, but especially my clothes. I felt like one of those anthropologists going into the African jungle where the natives had never seen a white man before. Unfortunately, he smelled like his friends, so I tried to breath thru my mouth.

When I realized Eric had noticed my GreatGreat Grandmother's comb in my hair, I reached up and gripped it tightly assuming he would try to take it. My assumption was right, he tapped my fingers and said something that sounded like an order. I shook my head and said "NO"! like he was a disobedient dog about to pee on the floor. Fortunately, he found that very funny and laughed as he continued his examination. I was trying to keep my shields down to figure out what his intentions were, but it was tricky since I couldn't understand his language I was trying to follow his emotions instead. Right now it was mostly curiosity tinged with suspicion or maybe fear? Why would Eric be afraid of me?

While he was crouched at my feet, studying my shoes and checking out the 20lbs of skirts, I took the opportunity to study him a little too. His hair was the same shoulder grazing length that I was familiar with, but the facial hair threw me a little. The blond beard was the same color as his hair and neatly trimmed and long. Vampires don't change after they're turned and keeping facial hair shaved would be a constant undertaking since it would grow back so quickly. I had never seen Eric shaving his face, so it had to have been shaved off before he was turned. Viking men considered their facial hair a sign of virility, (thank you History Channel!) so I couldn't imagine Eric doing this voluntarily.

He was wearing some type of long, woolen shirt, with loose leather pants ( I guess so they wouldn't split when you sat down) with leather and fur wrappings around the legs and leather boots maybe on his feet. I could hear metallic clanking, jangling when he moved, so I knew he was carrying tools or other items besides the sword. The biggest thing I noticed though was the fur draped across him. It was wolf skins maybe, with thick grayish fur with various hand stitching along the edges and attached above his left shoulder by a metal brooch, maybe bronze. This left his right arm free and there was a strap around his right thigh with a leather holster and an ornately carved handle sticking out of it. I assumed it was a dagger or knife of some kind. He had wide leather bracelets on both wrists, and the leather had been worked with the same style designs as the knife and sword handles.

The weirdest part and it had been the same with human Bill, was his coloring. Even with pale, white as marble skin, Eric as a vampire was gorgeous and got second looks wherever he went. This human Eric had lightly tanned skin, with almost ruddy pink cheeks that made his blue eyes twinkle even more brightly above them. With the beard shrouding most of his lower face, you really noticed his eyes even more. I was almost mesmerized watching the light breeze lifting his hair and the sunlight capturing its golden strands.

He was beautiful.

I clamped down quickly and reminded myself how much danger I was in. I wasn't here to ogle the local Viking men, especially given their incredibly bad reputation regarding how strangers or prisoners were treated. The History Channel special I had watched had mentioned Viking women being treated fairly well, for this time period, but that was if they were affiliated with a respected family by blood or marriage. I had neither of these things.

Eric stood up finally, looking thoughtful. He had spent an inordinate amount of time studying the fabric of my skirt and as I looked at his shirt I figured out why. People in this time (or women rather) had to spin and weave all the fabric by hand and sew the clothing by hand. The weave of his shirt was very rough compared to the fabric of my dress. Even though my dress was made from the same material, it had been woven by precision machinery and it probably appeared very fine to pre-industrial age eyes.

To someone like him, it would look expensive.

But was this good? Or was this bad?

The three Stooges came trotting back one by one, giving reports I assume from their manner of speaking to Eric. While their clothing was similar to Eric's, none of the men were wearing exactly the same thing or carrying the same items on their person, well duh, just like people today I guess. And it wasn't like they were all going to go down to the local department store and buy the same shirt. Everything had to be made by hand.

Eric pointed at me and said my name again, they repeated it in the same fashion he had. He then pointed at each of them and said their names slowly. It didn't help. His accent was so strong, I couldn't grasp what he was saying much less repeat it with any accuracy.

"I'm sorry" I said, shaking my head, "I don't understand you". I put my hands up in the universal gesture of "I don't have a clue", and waited to see what would happen next.

Eric was gesturing towards me and talking rapidly. The other two men, both with brown hair, one kind of curly the other straight, listened respectfully without comment. Red beard, on the other hand, interrupted him a couple times and argued against whatever Eric was saying. Eric just stared him down and repeated what he said (at least I think he did). I was trying to pick up emotionally what was going on and what they were disagreeing about, but it was like watching a movie with the sound off and trying to follow the plot.

At this point, I decided to call Red beard Moe, the brown haired Viking with the straight hair Larry since he seemed a little whiny and the curly haired Viking (who seemed to be clueless) Curly. It was easier to keep track of them this way. While Eric and Moe were arguing, Larry trotted off, picked something up off the ground and came back.

I couldn't believe it. It was my Joseph's Natural Food's grocery bag and it appeared to still have some of the items in it. It hadn't been on my shoulder this time when I time jumped, but it had only been a few feet behind me, so maybe that had been enough. How the heck would I know how this time travel stuff works?

Automatically reaching out for the bag, I took a step towards Curly. Curly held the bag out of my reach and gave it to Eric instead.

"Hey! That's mine" I said, pointing at the bag then back at myself to emphasize the point. Eric held the bag up out of my reach while holding me off with his other hand. The other men thought this was pretty funny and there was a bit of thigh slapping going on. There was nothing I could do about it, so I stood and glowered at Eric as he rummaged thru my bag.

It's amazing how impressive modern made beeswax candles and some wooden spoons can seem to people born far before the industrial age ever began. The men were impressed as hell with the workmanship of the spoons, sliding their hands over the smooth wood and examining the grain of the African hardwood. Eric took the remaining half of the broken one out, looked at it briefly and tossed it on the ground. Automatically, I bent and picked it back up. They were fascinated by the candles. From tapping their minds, I could tell they knew what they were, but were amazed at how perfect they were. Eric held one up to his nose and sniffed it experimentally, then handed it to Curly, who did the same, exclaimed something and smiled back at him. Even the bag itself was interesting, again with its modern weave, although I doubt any of them had ever seen hemp.

Once they saw the lettering on the bag though, their manner changed a bit. They got more serious, Eric and Moe started arguing again while Eric traced the letters with his finger. It was impossible that he understood it. Modern English hadn't been invented yet, but I didn't know if any of the letters might already be in use. It was making me crazy not understanding what was going on.

Finally, it seemed that they came to some type of agreement or stalemate anyway. Eric handed me back the back with everything in it, I didn't assume that he was going to allow me to keep it. He gestured for me to follow him and they all started walking at an angle parallel to the cliff. What else was I going to do? I followed behind him.

Now that it didn't look like anything horrible was going to happen to me anytime soon, I had a chance to think. I had no idea why I had time jumped again, but it seemed pretty darn relevant that I was here with Eric. Of all the places in the world and times, I end up with Eric while he's human. There was no way this was a coincidence. He had also been nearby during my previous jump back in Bon Temps, although he'd been a vampire.

Eric and I had exchanged blood numerous times and we were now what vampires called "blood bonded" which also had some kind of significance in the vamp social structure. Maybe the blood connection had something to do with where/when I was time jumping? Suddenly, it occurred to me that on my previous jump, the vampires I had run across, Russell, Long Shadow, Pam, and Eric all had something in common. They had all had my blood or I theirs. And if you think about it, since Lorena was Bill's Maker and I'd had Bill's blood too, I'd had Lorena's by default (Okay, ew)

Staring at Eric's broad back as we trudged across this open landscape, I felt some kind of relief that maybe there was some order to all this. I just wish I knew what the goal was or where I was going or what the hell I was supposed to do? This couldn't all be random.

Sighing heavily, I shunted all this aside for the moment. As fascinating as it was, the time travel aspect wasn't my biggest concern at the moment. My biggest problem was walking ahead of me right now, while I hustled to keep up. Eric had seemed suspicious of me and was still looking around him as we walked like he expected someone to come jumping out any minute. He was a smart guy, even as a human, this I was sure of. If he thought anything like Bill, then he was probably assuming I belonged to someone. A woman my age would definitely be married and have children in this time period (I felt a pang when I thought of this), so for him this was a reasonable assumption.

So where was my man? That's what he would be thinking!

My clothes were strange, but seemed very fine, so I was being well taken care of by my clan or tribe, whatever word they used. Women didn't go wandering around on their own in this time, it was too dangerous. So where were the rest of my people? And Eric didn't recognize my appearance as local, that meant some strangers were in the area. That would explain his suspicion and fear. If there was some strange, powerful clan moving in or wandering around on his people's turf, that meant possibly danger or an invasion. The argument between him and Moe made more sense now. They had been trying to figure out who I was, who my people were and whether there was a threat.

I had no way of communicating to them that there was no invasion and they were in no danger. My sudden appearance, my clothes and even the high quality of the items I carried said otherwise. To a Viking man seeing such well made items would automatically lead to the question of how good are my people's weapons? This explained why we were now walking at a brisk pace towards their village I guess. At least that was the visual I was getting from their heads. In Eric's mind he had to warn the village leaders of my appearance and the possibility of powerful enemies in the area.

I was hungry, thirsty and tired. It seemed a lifetime ago that I had sat in the Compton's kitchen comfortably eating, drinking and speaking English thank you very much. Of course, the Compton's wouldn't be born for …oh….another 800 years at least. I sighed again.

It was surprising to me that I hadn't been mistreated in anyway, but then maybe Eric thought I would be worth something undamaged. That special I had watched had mentioned the Vikings had a slavery system and took hostages during conflicts. Maybe he was thinking my family would pay good money for me. I snorted as I thought of Jason. That would explain Eric's behavior towards me so far. It wasn't like I was a threat personally, right?

It's no wonder Eric made such a successful vampire. Being a Viking had given him all the training he had needed.

Much to my relief, we seemed to be stopping for the night. I hadn't really noticed the sun setting, but I had noticed how cold it was getting. Although it obviously wasn't winter, since we were much further North than I had ever been in my life, it was definitely chillier. We had walked further away from the cliffs and gotten to a wooded area, so that cut down on the wind thank goodness.

The clearing we stopped in appeared to have been used as a camp before. There were stones arranged in a tight circle and signs of previous fires in it. The men all started hunting up firewood as I plopped myself down on the ground, hugging and rubbing my arms trying to warm up. Since it appeared I was probably some sort of hostage, they could make a fire without my help.

Eric pulled a small flat piece of metal and some flint probably, out of a pouch around his waist and started striking them against the twigs to get them to catch. I would have loved to have had a Merlottes matchbook right now. Striking a match would have freaked them out. But instead I sat and watched Eric patiently striking over and over, until finally the twigs caught. He blew gently on it as Larry added some larger sticks and then finally some real wood as it got going.

I hunched myself as close as I dared without sitting in the fire. It was getting pretty dark now and the temperature had skipped past chilly and gone straight for cold. Eric and his men didn't appear to be uncomfortable. For them this was probably balmy. For a Louisiana girl, it was NOT.

They sat and chatted casually, sometimes gesturing towards me. You would think they'd be tired of talking about me by now. I was as relaxed as I could get under the circumstances. Larry, Moe and Curly didn't seem to be thinking overtly lusty or similar thoughts about me at this point, they were mostly thinking about getting home. So whatever Eric had said, it had convinced them to leave me alone for the time being. Just to be safe, I stayed as close to Eric as possible without seeming inappropriate. I didn't want to give him any ideas either.

Curling up on the ground, I pushed the bag under my head so my face wouldn't be on the ground too. Hey, when you're tired enough you can sleep on anything. Moe had tossed a couple really large broken branches into the fire, making it flame up all nice and toasty. I started to doze off a little since it appeared the men were doing the same.

Then I jerked myself awake as my telepathy picked up something besides the sleeping men around the fire.

There were two voids moving towards the camp.

TBC

* * *

_Next Chapter: You didn't think the vampires were going to take a vacation during this part did ya?_

_PIMPING TIME: For those of you who may want to check out my other work, I updated "Bill and Eric's Excellent Adventure" chapter 4 is now up. I also posted what I'm calling my warm and fuzzy oneshot called "Grave's Heart" ,it takes place aprx 1 week after DAG and features Sook, as well as our two favorite vamps._

_And if you have something to say or a question , please leave a review! I really appreciate them!_

_Thanks and I hope you all have a safe holiday season. _


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N Charlaine Harris owns everything, I own nothing,nada, zero,zip,zilch_

_I have no beta on this story, so all screwups are entirely my own. _

_I have to thank you all for being so patient. A number of you know I was writing/posting another story which took me away from this one. It's called "Cheeks Red Like Roses" , it features middle aged human Eric/Sookie/Bill getting kinky if any of you missed it and want to check it out. _

_Since I know how hard it is to pick up reading after a break, I'll recap a little for you: Sookie time jumped to when Eric was still a human Viking. He prevented his buddies from taking advantage of her cuz he's thinking she's worth ransom to whomever she belongs to. And since to him, it would make no sense her just popping in on her own,he's worried about her people being on his people's turf and a possible invasion. So he's taking her back to his village to consult with the leaders and let them know whats going on. Sookie can't communicate with these guys cuz they're speaking Old Norse and reading their minds is problematic for the same reason. They've stopped for the night to rest and Sookie is now sensing two "voids" near camp which means two vampires are lurking in the darkness. _

_Now, let's see what happens. _

* * *

I immediately sat up trying to peer into the darkness by the campfire's flickering light. Eric and the other men were asleep, although how they could comfortably sleep on this cold hard ground was beyond me. The voids were slowing down as they got closer. It was highly unlikely they were just passing by, especially considering how "peopleless" this area seemed to be. And here we were, like a gas station in the middle of nowhere that sold snacks.

"Eric!" I hissed, as I jabbed his shoulder, "Wake up!"

He raised his head and brushed the hair off his face, giving me an annoyed look.

I jabbed him again and pointed towards the woods this time.

"Eric, there's someone out there!" He was slowly taking in my urgency, even if he couldn't understand my words. Looking towards the woods where I was pointing, he raised his voice sharply towards his buddies. They all jerked awake and looked at him as he pointed towards the woods. As they started getting up, they drew their swords at the same time.

That impulse saved us all.

My early warning combined with the Vikings being awake and having drawn swords was not what the two vampires were expecting. And we got really lucky that they were both very young. (You know you spend way too much time around vampires when you can tell ages) Suddenly, the area around the fire was in pandemonium. Eric and the Stooges were swinging their swords at the vampires and yelling to each other. The Vikings backed themselves into a circle to meet the two vampires head on, but the vampires were moving so fast it was hard for them to get a solid strike.

Suddenly, one of the vampires decided to try an easier target and came at me. I screamed as he pushed me to the ground. All I saw was a tattooed torso and flashing fangs. "This is it" I thought to myself. A horrible tearing sound and a sword tip was protruding from his stomach and almost into me as he howled and pulled away. He turned and leapt onto Eric who was the one stabbing him, in the process tearing Eric's sword out of his hands. Eric used his longer arms to try and keep him off as the vampire tried to smother him and tear his neck out with the sword protruding from his back. Eric was doing pretty well, but he was human and would tire, unlike the vampire on top of him.

I reached into my bag and grabbed the broken wooden spoon, ran over and impaled him in the back. The vampire spasmed backwards, staring at me unbelievingly as he staggered away from Eric. He fell to the ground finally dead and I swiveled around to see where his friend was. The Stooges had the other vampire cornered, stabbing him repeatedly which wouldn't work of course unless they chopped his head off. The other vampire saw what happened to his buddy and in his distraction, Moe got his chance and hacked his arm off sending bloody bits everywhere. The vampire sped into the woods and was out of sight in a matter of seconds.

I fell to the ground shaking from the adrenaline while the Vikings clustered together talking excitedly and scanning the woods for further attack. The vampire "void" was speeding away from camp, so I knew we were safe for the moment. It had all happened so fast, I hadn't even gotten a good look at either vampire to see if it was anyone I knew in "my time". I crept over to get a better look at the finally dead vampire. I was relieved that I didn't recognize him.

The vampire I had staked was already falling apart. Eric's sword made a soft thunk as it fell to the ground from the vampire's disintegrating body. When the Vikings went over to the corpse, they got even more alarmed than when we were being attacked. I saw Larry pull an amulet hanging from around his neck, touching it and babbling something that sounded an awful lot like praying to me, which didn't seem like a bad idea.

There was no way for me to tell them how incredibly lucky we had gotten. The relative youth of the vampires had given the Vikings a fighting chance. If either of the vampires had been of say Pam or Bill's age, it would have been all over. I realized I needed to start paying attention again, when I heard Moe's raised voice.

He and Eric were arguing about me again, judging from their pointing in my direction. Once again, I concentrated trying to get a handle on what was going on from their respective emotions and body language. All of them appeared to be okay, just some scratches, but no real injuries, so I couldn't figure out what Moe's problem was. Curly and Larry left them to it as they collected more wood and threw it on the fire, causing a delightful warm flare up and helping my visibility.

While their voices kept getting louder as they argued, I dragged myself up and hobbled over to the now flaking, ashy corpse. Having seen this a few times before, I wasn't freaked out by it, but I could understand why the men were upset. This was WAY beyond their understanding and probably very frightening for them. They had been attacked by "men" who were obviously not men. One had managed to run away after having his arm hacked off and the other one was disappearing to dust in a matter of minutes after being killed.

They would come to only one conclusion; that we had been attacked by demons or some magical creature. People during this time believed in magic, witches, vampires, werewolves and fairies. It wasn't until much later that people stopped believing and all those beings disappeared into the fog of myth. Just because people are primitive doesn't mean they're not smart.

Bending over, I picked up my damaged spoon and wiped it on the ground. When I stood up with it and walked towards Eric and Moe, they both stepped back.

They were afraid of me and my broken spoon.

It dawned on me, that they were thinking I had done some magic with my broken spoon and that explained why the corpse was now a pile of dust on the ground. Now I was worried. Women who did magic or were thought to do magic didn't fare too well in most of the history I had read. They were considered dangerous and horrible executions were usually the result.

Once again, I was faced with not being able to communicate since we didn't share a language in common or a cultural context either. Having no idea what to do, I just looked at them with open arms and said "I'm not going to hurt you ". Eric immediately walked over to my bag and brought it back, handing it to me with both hands, like an offering. He nodded to me like he was saying "here, here, take it".

I gave him a tired smile and accepted it with a "Thank you Eric". He smiled back at the sound of his name and glanced triumphantly towards Moe. Moe just kept glaring at me with fear and suspicion radiating off of him like a wave. His red bearded mouth etched into a permanent scowl. Curly nodded at Eric, accepting whatever decision he had made. And Larry kept his amulet out, holding it and continuing to murmur what I assumed to be prayers under his breath.

Oh well, it could be worse.

Going back to my spot next to the fire, I plopped down with my magical hemp grocery bag and slid the magic stick back inside it. I was so tired and tired of being tired that my body just felt like it was going to float away. So it was hard to get concerned about Eric and Moe resuming their discussion, although it appeared Moe was being a little more low key.

My skin itched under my corset and I just felt so grubby and just plain gross. I didn't even want to think about what I looked like or what my outfit looked like. The only amazing thing was that my hair appeared to still be in place with only a few strays. Sarah was a fantastic hair stylist. I started giggling, from fatigue I guess. Now that I thought of it, I didn't need to be so proper. I managed to unbutton my collar and sleeves since they were or had been pristine white. Shoving them into my bag, I did another scan, but felt nothing but the four men.

I was so tired and thirsty and hungry. There was nothing to be done about the last two, but I could just let myself fall asleep. Eric and his friends were keeping a healthy distance away from me, so it seemed safe enough. I leaned forward onto the ground as close to the fire as I could get without burning my eyebrows, put my head on my bag and went to sleep.

The sun shining brightly over the trees around our camp woke me the next morning. I felt like something that had been on the floor of a movie theater forever. Everything hurt and I was just so grungy with my mouth all dry and sticky. And I wanted a cup of coffee dammit. Dragging myself into a sitting position, I rubbed my eyes and looked around.

I didn't see any of the Vikings.

My heart started revving up as I twisted around trying to see.

Letting my shields down, I realized there was still one brain here. Eric was about twenty yards away from me crouched down. Once I realized his pants were down, I figured out what he was doing.

Does the Viking poop in the woods? Yes he does.

He gave me a casual wave, so I waved back then quickly turned away and looked at the fire which was still going steadily. There was a spit rigged above it with a small animal skinned, gutted and roasting. Studying the long hind feet closely, I realized it was a rabbit. If I ever got back I'd have to suggest Bill and Eric go rabbit hunting together.

Okay, now I KNEW I was getting delirious.

I needed food, drink, something. Hopefully, Eric was planning on giving me some of this rabbit. He'd had a busy morning if he'd had time to hunt, prepare and cook this rabbit all before I got up. Maybe he never went back to sleep. I wondered where his friends went. There was no way to know what time it was of course. Not that it mattered here. Everything moved at a slower pace from what my modern self was used to. I had noticed that at the Compton's house.

Crouching down next to the fire, Eric took his knife and poked the rabbit apparently checking to see if it was done. He grunted in a satisfied manner, picked up the stick with the rabbit on it, stood up and started walking as he gestured for me to follow. As I staggered up I grabbed my bag and followed. I guess this rabbit was "to go".

Even though I was hungry, tired, thirsty, and grungy as all heck, I felt more relaxed now. With Angry Moe of the Three Stooges gone, I was a little more comfortable. I couldn't understand Eric's literal "thoughts", but I was becoming more accustomed to the "feel" of his mind. And he didn't seem to have any ill intent towards me. Maybe I'm just naïve, but he didn't seem like a malicious person. Or maybe it was just that his facial expressions occasionally reminded me of Amnesia Eric.

Or maybe I'm just a fool and Eric has always had my number.

I sighed and looked around more closely as we walked thru the woods. Now that the sun was up, the cold wasn't as brisk. It seemed like we were following some sort of trail that was visible to Eric's eyes, but not mine. These woods we were walking in had never seen a saw or an axe. The tree trunks were huge and mighty, standing with the authority of a living being that has watched time pass by with impunity. There were some clearings here and there, and sometimes I could see pine trees visible upward. So it appeared we were moving at a slight elevation.

It was so different from the woods and swamps of Louisiana. Here the trees were spaced apart and the canopy was high over our heads, allowing dappled sunlight to peek in. The woods around my house and Bill's had been farmed for a very long time, then allowed to go fallow. So most of the trees were under 200 years old and they were crowded with younger trees, shrub, creeping vines and all the vegetation that clutters our wilderness.

After a few minutes, Eric cut into the steaming rabbit with his knife. He grabbed a piece with his fingers and bit into it. He blew on his fingers right after, so it must have been pretty hot. Then he cut off the hind leg at the hip and held it out to me, his blue eyes meeting mine. "Thank you Eric", I said, smiling at him as I accepted it. It was very hot and I held it gingerly. I didn't want to drop it.

I've had rabbit before, but usually in stews, or casseroles and the like. But it was hot, juicy and I was hungry so I was inclined to like it. Much to my surprise it tasted good and I was shocked that it seemed to have been seasoned. Eric must have rubbed some herbs or leaves into the rabbit before cooking it.

Human Eric was impressing the heck out of me.

I smiled up at him again and held up the bitten leg, "It's very good Eric. I like it". He was pleased and continued tearing off bits of rabbit as we walked. Now all I needed was something to drink to wash it down. Actually, washing as in bathing, would be awesome. That didn't seem too likely in the here and now.

There was no plan. I had no idea when or if I would ever time jump out of this place again. What if I was stuck here? What would happen to me? If the options in Human Bill's time were limited, the options here were positively dismal. Women had no power or respect on their own. Everything was related to what family you belonged to or how powerful your husband was. I had none of these things. You either attached yourself to a man who took care of you or you were a servant or slave.

What if those were my choices? Eric would eventually realize there was no tribe to claim me or ransom me back to. At that point I was up for grabs and anything could happen, all of them bad. It reminded me of when Bill had first claimed me as his in front of Malcolm and his crew. He had angered me by doing that, but he advised me if he hadn't, I would have been "fair game". What would Eric do when he realized I was "fair game". And how would my "magical ability" figure into all this? Maybe Eric would sell me or trade me to one of his buddies. A pretty woman of child bearing age would have to be of some value.

It made me sick to think what would happen to me. A panicking feeling began to take over.

If I was separated from Eric would I be able to time jump again? I kept chewing on the rabbit's leg, pondering this detail. Glancing up at Eric's tanned face in the sunlight I realized I was going to have to find a way to stay with him. What little I had seen so far made me realize I needed to stick with him if I could. It occurred to me that Eric was probably married, had a family maybe and that would affect things. Maybe his wife would make him get rid of me? Maybe his village wouldn't want some dangerous witch woman around their kids?

My head was spinning with the awful possibilties.

Getting some food in my belly reduced the gnawing feeling and I started calming down a little. My Gran always said to deal with today and not worry about tomorrow's problems. Speculating about all this was accomplishing nothing. I would come up with a plan. I had no idea if or when I would time jump out of here. Therefore I would assume I wasn't and deal with the here and now.

Granted this was Viking Eric and I knew nothing about him or his people, but it was still better than being with strangers. So I would do everything I could to stay with him. This meant making sure he liked me and wanted me with him. I figured I had a head start on this since Vampire Eric and Amnesia Eric had both liked me a lot.

We walked along at a steady pace, finishing off the rabbit. As we nibbled the meat off the bones we just tossed them aside. It was so quiet, something else I had noticed at the Comptons. In modern times, unless you are way out in the boonies, you're still exposed to noise and the light of civilization. You can see the glow of a city from miles away blocking out the stars and planes flying over head. But here I could only hear trees, birds, and the sound of Eric's body jingling from whatever he was carrying and the swish of my skirts.

The air was noticeably different. I live out in the country and you would think that the air was pretty clean, but you would think wrong. The sky here was so blue it looked artificial and the air almost hurt to breath it. You don't realize how much pollution you're breathing until it's gone I guess.

A soft rushing sound came to my ears and I realized I was hearing water. "Is that water I hear?" I asked Eric, even though he didn't understand me. He glanced over towards me and I made a drinking motion. He smiled and nodded. Thank goodness! We were coming upon a section of woods that definitely looked like it had been cleared for a pathway at some point. It would make sense that a major path would be located near water. I licked my lips, allowing myself to acknowledge how thirsty I really was. Eric must have been thirsty too, because he picked up the pace and turned into another smaller path off the one we were traipsing along. I had to hustle to keep up with him, but hearing the water get louder gave me motivation.

Once I saw the creek glinting in the sunlight, I got really excited and practically started running. "Water!" I cried, like I'd never seen it before. Eric chuckled behind me and the jangling became even noisier. My skirts whipped between the bushes as I ran down the gently sloping pathway to a fairly wide, fast moving creek. I kneeled down on a large flat rock, set down my bag and gazed at all the water. It didn't seem very deep, maybe less than half a foot. It was making that glorious rushing sound from working its way around various rocks and trees with roots daintly dipped in.

Eric kneeled next to me, and I found out I was wrong about the depth when he buried both arms into the current. His hands didn't even touch the bottom. It was an optical illusion because the water was so clean and unpolluted. I dipped my hands into the icy cold water and brought it to my parched lips.

Oh my God.

It tasted amazing. It was so pure I couldn't get enough of it. I just kept dipping my hands in over and over until they were numb. Then I rubbed my face with my cold wet hands. I felt much better. Sitting back, I watched Eric pretty much doing the same thing I had been doing. A couple times I've had bottled "spring" water with fancy names and expensive prices. I had never been impressed by any of them. This creek put them all to shame.

Eric sat back leaning on his hands, tilted his head facing the sunlight and closed his eyes for a moment. I took that opportunity to study his face. Since vampire skin is so white and perfectly smooth, it's often difficult to tell their original ages. Eric's face had no discernable lines. He was lightly tanned and his beard looked like spun gold with the water droplets dangling off of it. He actually looked like he might be younger than me, which felt very strange.

Large blue eyes that sparkled in the sunlight were staring at me now. I quickly shifted my gaze back towards the water. Jason and his fishing buddies would love this creek. I could actually see large fish swimming in front of me, their silver forms shimmering under the clear water. There were so many of them, clean water equals more fish.

With a jangle, Eric jumped to his feet, wiping his wet hands on the furry cloak. He gestured and spoke to me, obviously asking me to follow. So I lumbered up from my comfortable rock perch and followed him with my bag. We hiked our way back up the path, both of us feeling better overall. Eric was exuding a sense of purpose and confidence as we walked briskly.

Fortunately for me, he was also thinking about where we were going. I "saw" in his mind the Three Stooges leaving our camp at daybreak. They were moving at a good clip, jogging it seemed. I saw a village of timber longhouses, their interiors dark and smoky. Men with long hair, beards, stripped to their waists using axes to chop firewood. Women weaving cloth and tending children who ran helter skelter the way children do everywhere. I saw faces, but they flashed across Eric's mind too quickly for me to follow.

It looked rough, orderly and bustling in its own way, but rough. To Eric though it was comforting and homey, he missed it. He worried about his village and the people in it. I figured out he had sent the Stooges ahead for that reason. So they could warn their leaders and exchange information. They could move much faster without me. Eric had stayed behind to escort me back.

We emerged in what appeared to be the primary pathway we had been treading before. As we walked, it occurred to me that I was feeling almost comfortable with this Eric. We had always had chemistry. It appeared that was still the case. So maybe Eric's interest in me wasn't just my fairy blood. I'd ponder that little tidbit later. My internal musings were interrupted by the sounds of other voices coming closer. The pathway merged into a large open area with two other pathways coming off of it.

A large group of Vikings were coming down one of the other pathways. Eric was calm about this, so I assumed he knew them. There were men and some women with children running alongside. As they gathered into the clearing, a few of the children broke off and came running towards us. They couldn't be more than five or six years old, with the youngest still a toddler. As they ran towards Eric the youngest cried out something that sounded like "Fader!" "Fader!"

Wait, did they just call Eric "Father?"

TBC

* * *

_intrigued? Of course you are, nothing like some little Eric progeny ankle-biters to peak some interest. LOL! Honestly though, writing this chapter was like pulling teeth, since I was away from it for too long. I'm going to make sure that doesn't happen again cuz getting back in the saddle has been hard. I also under estimated how hard it would be to write E/S with no fun dialogue. Ah well, my story, my bed, I have to lie in it. _

_NEXT CHAPTER: we meet a few of the Viking villagers, Eric's kids, and Sookie makes a decision on how to get Eric to REALLY like her. You get one guess. _


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N As always, Charlaine Harris owns everything, I own nothing, nada zero, zip, zilch_

_My apologies re the lengthly delay on this, I hit a block on this chapter, the Vikings weren't cooperating and I changed my mind about a few plot points, so I had to reoutline etc. Also I've had some personal issues this past spring, and I'm now working two jobs during the week (and a 3rd one on the weekend but whos counting?) , so my writing time is very limited . Fortunately, I'm stubborn and just keep plodding along on this. _

_Historical cliffnotes: I've based this on internet/book research on Vikings culture and documentaries I've seen on Patriarchal agrarian "primitive" societies that still exist in many parts of the world , hope this comes across . _

_Recap: Sookie has time traveled after a Halloween party at her house. She's still wearing her Civil War reeanactors costume and carrying her reusable grocery bag with wooden spoons and candles. On this "jump" , she's with Human Eric and some of his fellow Vikings. They were attacked by young vampires, Sookie staked one and the other ran off missing an arm. She awoke the next morning to find the other vikings were gone and Eric is walking her towards his village as far as she knows. They've come to a clearing and a big bunch of Vikings have appeared. Some Viking children are running towards Eric..._

_Now let's see what happens..._

Eric crouched down, opened up his long arms, and was immediately smothered by what had to be his kids. The paternal emotion emanating from Eric was unmistakable. These were his children. He wrapped his arms around all three of them and stood up, squeezing them tightly to him. All three let out high pitched shrieks of delight and kicked their legs, apparently in a vain attempt at escape. Eric's laugh boomed into the open clearing. This was obviously a familiar game.

After a few seconds of Eric growling and baring his teeth at them like he was a fearsome beast (yeah, ironic isn't it?), he set his giggling brood back down.

The oldest child, a boy perhaps six or seven years old, immediately adopted a manly stance as he stared up at me. His blond hair was cut straight and hung loose above his small shoulders. The clothing he wore was similar to his father's, but perhaps with less detail. Given the amount of work it probably took to make clothing here; and children's tendency to grow quickly, that would make sense. By the time you made the perfect outfit, your kid would have outgrown it already. The boy's little hand rested on the carved handle of a knife in its leather holder attached to his belt.

In my time, he'd be learning how to ride his bike without training wheels and his mother would still be cutting up his food for him. Here, he was walking around with a real knife in his belt. And I had no doubt he knew how to use it.

The next oldest child, a girl, appeared no more than a year or two younger. She had long brown hair that had been double braided down her back and her layered tunics were a bit longer than her brother's. Her ears were pierced I noticed, and tiny red beads hung from them. She hung back, holding Eric's hand as she examined this strange looking woman in front of her. The youngest child was another boy, who also had brown hair, that was cut fairly short. He still had the chubby appearance of a toddler and was gripping a carved wooden animal as he gazed at me in wonder.

All three had Eric's eyes which would have been sweet if they all hadn't been staring at me simultaneously. It was pretty darn creepy and I struggled to keep my "crazy Sookie" smile off my face.

"Hi kids", I said, since I didn't know what else to do, "My name is Sookie, it's very nice to meet you".

They immediately burst out laughing at my odd sounding voice and speech. The little girl looked up at Eric, pointing and asking him a question judging by the tone of her voice. He smiled down at her and replied while waving a hand in my direction. They had probably lived their entire young lives in their village surrounded by people like themselves. I'm sure I looked and sounded really strange.

I pulled myself from these musings as the rest of the Vikings spilled into the clearing. There were approximately twenty-five adults, mostly men. There were six women among them. I spotted four other kids, who were in their teens maybe. Eric's kids were the only small children in the group.

Compared to modern people, they smelled sweaty and dirty. I reminded myself that this wasn't their fault. If they had access to hot and cold running water, spas with bubbling jets, soaps and shampoos with names like mango sunkiss; they'd be all over it. And they weren't grimy dirty, like they'd been ditch digging or anything. I'd walked past homeless people in Shreveport that smelled worse. Their hair was combed, the women's neatly braided and coiled into different styles, faces were washed, beards trimmed, so these were people who cared about their appearance. Actually, I got the impression the smell was probably from their clothes, specifically the furs some of them were wearing. Washing clothes here had to be an ordeal. I resolved to never take my washing machine for granted ever again.

Trying to figure out their intentions, I dropped my shields so I could pick up their emotions. I was mostly picking up curiosity, caution and some fear. One person who was emanating fear and loathing was Moe, who apparently couldn't get his little red head around the fact that I wasn't a threat. This was worrisome, since he had probably been blabbing his version of recent events to the other members of his village. I was hoping Eric could give them his version of things and they would listen. Hopefully, that version was favorable towards me.

Three men, who appeared older than the rest of the group, stepped forward. The taller one, who had a cap covering his gray hair and balding head grasped Eric's forearm and spoke in a friendly, deep voice towards Eric. He was about six feet tall, with the settled body of a mature man. The authority he projected reminded me of the Hotshot were-panther's leader, Calvin Norris. So maybe he was the leader? The tunics and furs he was wearing had beautifully sewn trim with metallic threads woven into it. The big brooch holding his fur cloak to him was silver not bronze like Eric's. Yeah, this had to be the head honcho.

Eric turned to present me to Papa Smurf and his buddies. The only word I recognized was the weird pronunciation of my name, which the older men repeated like they were trying to figure it out. And since I figured it couldn't hurt, I introduced myself, "Hi, my name is Sookie Stackhouse. It's a pleasure to meet all of you". I did a little head bow towards Papa Smurf, similar to the one I've done with upper level vampires and combined it with a little wave towards the gathered crowd. My Gran always said it pays to be polite to everyone. She would have been proud.

I stood there and sweated a little, watching the reaction of the Vikings surrounding me. A couple of the younger ones stood there with widened eyes, observing me in my exotic Civil War dress, corset and petticoats. The older Vikings seemed to be concentrating on my words and studying my clothes, like they were trying to figure out where I could have come from.

Papa Smurf seemed to be surprised by me for some reason. Maybe because Angry Moe had given him a slanted view of me perhaps? It was hard not to glare at stupid Moe. Here I had been worried about being taken to Eric's village and now I was worried what would happen if I wasn't. Bill's family had considered it their Christian duty to take me in. These Vikings didn't seem to be bogged down by such mundane feelings of obligation. I wanted these people to help me , so I wouldn't die out here. I had no illusions about my ability to survive out here by myself. I'd worry about how they were going to treat me later.

Tonight, on Viking Survivor! Watch Sookie Stackhouse as she tries to find food and water before freezing to death! Stay tuned!

After a brief discussion with the other village elders (that's who I was assuming the other two men were), a few orders were given to some of the surrounding men. Two pairs of men went trotting off. One pair went back the way Eric and I had come from, the others went down the third pathway off the clearing. A couple other men started running around setting up camp, with a woman directing them.

For the first time, I really looked at the clearing we were in. It was large enough to set up a dozen large tents if you wanted. Obviously, the Vikings didn't have any, but a number of them were carrying bundles on their backs. A few firepits showed it had been used as a campsite before. There were large stones surrounding the pits and logs big enough to sit on within a comfortable distance.

Everyone made their way over to the nearest firepit area and the men started sitting down with a purposeful air. The women were unpacking the bundles and giving further orders to a couple of the men. This surprised me, so I studied the two men more closely. Both had very basic, unadorned clothes compared to the other Vikings. Their hair was cut close to the scalp. Then I noticed the heavy metal collars around their necks. They were slaves. That's why the women were able to order them around.

I remembered this from the History Channel special I had seen. The Vikings captured, traded, and kept slaves, like most of the world at this time. And the women often were in charge of them since the men were away so much. Unfortunately, I had dozed off during part of the program. How was I supposed to know my survival would depend on a television show?

As everyone got settled in the firepit area, Eric turned and spoke to his oldest son while pointing at me. His son straightened up and nodded solemnly at whatever Eric was saying. Then Eric said something to the other two children while gesturing at the older boy. Both kids nodded obediently at whatever he said.

Both Bill and Eric put most parents to shame when it came to their children's behavior. I wish all the parents who brought their children into Merlottes had this much control over their progeny. I'll bet Eric's kids had never thrown themselves on the ground in a screaming temper tantrum.

Eric joined the other men around the firepit, sitting on the logs near them. I started to follow, and was stopped by the eldest little Northmen blocking my path. He stared up at me, pointed at a spot on one of the logs off to the side from the men and said my name, quite clearly I might add. He gestured again towards the log, speaking his language. Even though I couldn't understand him, it was obvious he was ordering me to sit down.

A kid barely old enough to order a Happy Meal on his own was now in charge of me.

This was just peachy.

Since I didn't want to get into an altercation with a first grader, not to mention he might actually be able to beat me, I did what he ordered. Where was his mother anyway? I plunked myself down on the log, keeping a good grip on my bag. I was the only woman sitting for the moment. The rest of them were unpacking the bundles they had brought and pulling out what appeared to be cooking items.

Studying the women, it occurred to me that one of them was probably his wife. I mentally checked to see if any of them had telltale signs of feelings for Eric that would mark them as his wife. I should have been worrying about what this meeting was about and what the Vikings were going to do with me. Instead, I was suddenly curious to see what Eric's wife looked like. I'm such an idiot.

Vikings have a reputation as having been unusually tall. I'm here to tell you that this isn't true from the group I was sitting amongst. However, they did look almost the same size as modern day people so maybe that's how they received this reputation. During this time period, they must have seemed pretty big. Eric would have seemed like a giant, he was the tallest in this group. Only three other men appeared to be over six feet. Two of the women were just a smidge taller than me, the rest shorter. As a group, they were taller than the people I'd seen in Bon Temps with Human Bill a thousand years from now.

A thousand years from now…this time travel stuff will just mess your head up. I needed to focus on the here and now.

As adults were sitting down and with the sun rising higher in the sky, fur cloaks started coming off. The designs stitched into the clothing was fascinating. It was hard not to stare. Anthropologists would have been ecstatic to be sitting here observing all this Old World finery. All the adults had various small metal items dangling off of their person, not all of it was recognizable to my modern day eyes. Some of the women had sissors hanging off their brooches, sissors! I didn't even know they'd been invented. And all the women present had keys dangling from loose belts around their waists. Like a cat wearing a bell, they jangled as they walked briskly around the campsite.

The primary difference between the men and women was the length of their tunics. The men's tunics hung loosely around hip level and all of them were armed with knives, daggers, swords and other scary looking implements. Their hair varied in length, but all of them had beards. The exception was a teenage Viking who trying really hard to grow one, poor thing.

The women were wearing loose, long dresses with an outer tunic that reminded me of a full apron. The inside tunic's sleeves stuck out from the outer one's shoulder straps; which were attached with large brooches. Although, most of the women were carrying shorter knives, these seemed to be for practical reasons, not as weapons. Two of the older women had scarves wrapped around their heads that had definitely not been made here. They reminded me of Middle Eastern scarves I had seen at the World Market in Shreveport. A few of them had long hair that was braided in various styles and coiled around their heads. Combs made from different metals displayed elaborate carvings that glinted in the sunlight. Boy, these Vikings liked lots of elaborate designs on their stuff.

The one thing they all had in common was that their lives had not been easy. From the tanned skin, scars, wrinkles, (missing fingers here and there,ew) and overall weariness on some of their faces, life was a struggle here. Some of them had key teeth missing. They looked healthy enough though. Even with the dirty, smelly exteriors, everyone appeared robust and well fed. Sickly types probably didn't last long around here.

And none of the women were interacting with Eric in a noticeably wife like fashion, that I could see. He wasn't staring at any of them either. Since I didn't know what constituted typical marital relations here maybe it would be ….wait…..one of the taller women was crouching at Eric's position. Her coiled, brown braided hair shone in the sunlight overhead. Eric smiled at her affectionately, as she spoke with him with quiet, urgent tones. She wasn't what I would call pretty, but she had striking, bold features. It wasn't until she crouched that I noticed she was pregnant. The long loose tunic dresses the women were wearing pretty much shrouded their figures, and looked much more comfortable than the outfit I was wearing.

I suspected they were talking about me. Their heads both swiveled to look at me, oh yeah, they were talking about me alright. Seeing their faces side by side, I relaxed a little. She wasn't his wife. The similarity in the faces became obvious. She was a relative of his, maybe even his sister. They looked close enough in age and his affection for her was clear in his mind, but there was no lust interspersed with it.

It may sound weird, but until now I had never really thought of Eric as a "family guy". He had always been this solitary, beautiful, phenomenon that sprang up on his own. Maybe since Bill was born and raised in Bon Temps, I'd had a different attitude towards him and easily seen him as a human person. But with Eric, I had not. It's hard to come to the realization that all vampires come from somewhere and once upon a time, they were all human with families, lives, and plans for the future.

Eric and the woman I was strongly suspecting was his sister, kept discussing me in low tones. She said something that made Eric burst out laughing. Her eyes blazed and she wagged her finger in Eric's face as she snapped back. I knew how she felt. She had said something that Eric wasn't taking seriously and it was ticking her off.

Been there, done that, wore the T-shirt out.

Lugging herself to her feet, she gave the Viking version of "talk to the hand" at Eric and stalked away to tend to her bundles she had carried here. Eric just smiled at her waddling backside.

The slaves had the fires going in the pits and the women were working on cooking something up which sounded good to me. The rabbit I had shared with Eric was wearing off. I didn't know what lunch was, I just hoped they would offer me some. As fascinating as watching this One Thousand AD cooking show was, I had to snap to because the men were starting to talk serious.

Trying to figure out Eric's previous conversations with the Three Stooges had been hard enough. With such a large group, I was playing charades in a foreign country.

Papa Smurf started speaking in moderate reasonable tones. Everyone got as quiet as mice and listened, even the children. He didn't seem like the kind of guy who spoke without thinking which was a good thing. Hopefully, that meant he wouldn't act without thinking either. After speaking for about five minutes, he seemed to open the floor.

Several different men stood up and stated their peace. Moe was one of them, gesturing at me and radiating fear like a tidal wave. Two of the women stood up and spoke as well, which surprised me, but the men listened to what they said. It was making me crazy not understanding what they were saying, especially since I was the topic of conversation.

Then Eric stood up and started speaking. I've never seen Eric make a speech of any kind. Vampires don't go for verbose speeches and they can communicate nonverbally so well, that words often aren't necessary. Human Eric appeared to be giving an account of what had happened since they found me. Even not understanding his words, I could see he was telling it in a storylike fashion. He did an impression of me on the ground after he tripped me, crying out his name, he swung his arms around, displaying how they had fought the vampires, what the vampires looked like and how they behaved. The crowd was mesmerized by his story. Hell, I was mesmerized and I already knew the ending.

When he did an impression of the vampire's fangs, it drew a gasp from the crowd. I hadn't even realized the Vikings had seen the vampire's fangs. Everything had happened so fast and it had been so dark. He replayed his stabbing the vampire in the back, then the vampire coming for him. Pointing at me, he did another impression of me (pretty good one actually) running over and stabbing the vampire in the back with my broken spoon. Everyone was looking at me now, so I tried to back Eric's version of events by sitting up straight and nodding along. He waggled his fingers against the ground and ran the dirt thru his fingers. He must have been describing the vampire's body breaking down, because that generated another gasp and muttering from the crowd.

It was so exciting the way he told the story, it made me wish so much I understood his language. When he was done, I wanted to give him a standing ovation, but figured that would be overdoing it. I focused again, because he was walking towards me. He crouched down and gestured at my bag and waved his hand at the crowd. Maybe he wanted me to show them the broken spoon? Okey, dokey, time for show and tell. I was surprised he didn't just grab it out of the bag. I shrugged and pulled it out, holding it up for everyone to see.

There was respectful silence as everyone took in me and my magic stick. Papa Smurf sat thoughtfully stroking his graying beard. His head jerked towards a couple of the older women. The two women jangled their way over to me. Eric and my mini prison guard stepped out of their way. The younger one, a freckled fresh faced woman with red hair, held her hands out and started chanting very low. The older one, who was wearing one of those exotic looking scarves on her head, bent down next to me. She held out both hands towards my stick, nodding for me to hand it to her.

What the hell. I smiled and laid it gently in her palms. Her chanting joined Ms Red Hair.

All the Vikings in the group held their breath. Nothing happened of course.

I don't know if these women were supposed to be some kind of medicine women or witches or what. I do know that they had no magical ability whatsoever. My roommate Amelia had more magical juice in her big toe than these two had in their entire bodies. And I've been around enough real witches by now to recognize legitimate magic when it's happening.

The two women eyed each other and the older one gave Papa Smurf a look and a shrug. I shoved the magic stick back in the bag when she handed it back. Papa Smurf just looked exasperated.

The rest of the Vikings were disappointed. Eric was the only one who didn't seem fazed by this.

Papa Smurf clapped his hands together and gave some orders which generated a small flurry of activity. The women started barking orders to the slave guys. Was the meeting over? Had they decided anything? What was going to happen to me? I couldn't get anything concrete from anyone's heads. My head was going to pop off from the frustration.

I wanted to grab someone and shake them, demand to know what was happening, but that would have been futile. I sighed, realizing I was going to have to wait and see. I reminded myself I hadn't been mistreated so far and to focus on the moment.

My mini prison guard had stepped back in front of me, with his arms crossed over his boyish chest. He was taking his responsibilities seriously, good for him. Eric's daughter had been sitting near me on the log the whole time, holding onto her younger brother who was playing with his wooden toy animal. They hadn't interrupted or done anything to disrupt the meeting which was amazing to me.

Maybe my Gran and her friends had been right. Maybe kids nowadays are spoiled rotten.

Hissing sounds drew my attention towards the firepits. The women had iron skillet looking implements on the hot coals and they were throwing huge heaps of butter on them. Then something dry and gray followed the butter. I think it was dried fish? Oh well, I'd find out soon enough.

Of course the men were not helping. They were sitting around talking the way men do when they try to pretend what they're saying is not just gossip. Papa Smurf had his head tucked close to the other two older guys while they had a little private pow wow, about me I'm sure.

While all this hustle and bustle was going on, I was trying to get a feel for the attitudes of the crowd. Right now, they were hungry since they hadn't eaten an actual breakfast that day. From the images I was receiving, the Three Stooges had trotted into their village early that morning, woke up Papa Smurf and just about everyone else. They had given a report of what had happened. An argument had broken out, but I wasn't clear why. Then this group had decided to come meet us, so they had walked for hours to get here. Why didn't they just wait for Eric and I to show up at the village? I didn't have a clue.

The women were hustling around the fires, throwing some herbs or spices into the skillets. Eric's female relative opened some small wrapped cloth bundles that contained more foodstuffs. There was a pile of dried berries, a pile of nuts, and a block of what appeared to be cheese. She took her small knife and sliced the cheese into nice straight chunks. She was also pouring milk from a bag made from some kind of animal organ. There were several deep cups lined up, but not enough for everyone, so I assumed we were sharing. I shunted aside my squeamishness regarding germs and potential bacteria. It's not like I could just not eat. If I got sick, I got sick. Crossing my bridges one at a time, that was me.

Small wooden bowls/slabs that did service as plates were being handed around. Ms Red Hair used a fairly flat oval tool to spoon the concoction onto one of them and serve Papa Smurf and some of the other men, including Eric. She was tussling with her cooking tool a little, trying to get liquid with the fish onto the wooden plates. Pulling one of my wooden spoons from my bag, I tapped her on the shoulder. Her eyes got wide as she took in my vastly superior wooden spoon. I pointed at the pile of buttery fish she was trying to scoop up and said, "Go ahead, you can use my spoon", as I waved it towards the fish.

Ms Red Hair murmured appreciatively as she utilized my Fair Trade African Hardwood spoon to serve the waiting men. The slave guys were going around and offering the cheese chunks, nuts, and berries to everyone. Eric's littlest let out an "AH!" when the berry parcel went by, so his sister grabbed a handful and they started snacking on those. The nuts were still in their shells and I've never heard of anyone getting sick on aged cheese, so I reached for those two things.

"Suukeee"

I was startled to realize that Eric's little girl was saying my name to get my attention. She said it as clearly as her brother did and much better than the adults. They always say small children can learn languages really easily compared to grownups . She was looking up at me with her big blue Eric eyes, holding out some berries towards me with her little dirty hand. Pointing at the cheese I was holding, it seemed that she was offering me some berries in exchange for a piece of cheese.

"Of course, here you go", I said, knowing she didn't understand me, but I smiled my genuine smile at her. I handed her and the little boy a square of cheese each and accepted the berries. He really loved that wooden animal because he kept it gripped pretty tight in one hand while he chewed, or rather gnawed the way toddlers do, on the cheese.

I was suddenly aware that most of the adults were observing me as I interacted with Eric's children. They were eating, but they were watching me, especially Papa Smurf. They were probably judging me in some way, but phooey on them. I was treating his kids the way I treat all kids, respectfully, provided that they're not complete brats of course.

The cheese was pretty good actually, and since I was hungry, it tasted even better. Deciding to take a chance, I tried one of the berries. It had been dried, which had intensified its tartness. I must have made a funny sour face because the two older children started laughing at me. I had to laugh with them. This broke the ice with the little girl, because she pointed at herself and said a word. Her name maybe, I wasn't sure, I needed her to repeat it. I pointed at myself and said my name then pointed at her and said "your name?"

This time it was clear as a bell and it helped that it was still in use.

"Ingrid", she said, her mouth still full of cheese and smiling with rosy cheeks.

I was delighted that someone was attempting to communicate with me. "Ingrid", I repeated, nodding at her. She was quite pleased with this development, so she pointed at her older brother, "Gooneer" I thought she said. I repeated it back, but she shook her head this time and repeated it more slowly, "Gunnar". Like "gun" and "AR" like a pirate would. "Your name is Gunnar", I stated as I nodded towards my personal guard. He nodded back in stately fashion, which was bizarre in someone so young. Now for the little one, who had finished gnawing his cheese and was now gnawing the head of his wooden animal. Ingrid jumped back in, "Ulf", is what it sounded like. "Ulf?" I asked, as I pointed at the little woodchuck Viking. For his part, the littlest member of the Northman group was enthusiastic that this exotic stranger was speaking to him. He squealed and jumped up and down upon hearing me say his name.

Oh yeah, we were getting some looks.

Several of the other Vikings made comments at Eric and gestured in the direction of me and the kids. Eric sounded relaxed as he shoveled buttery fish into his bearded mouth and shrugged at them. I got the impression they had an issue with potentially dangerous little ole me being around his children. Perhaps he was slightly biased since I'd saved his life the night before, but Eric was not concerned about me interacting with his kids. He seemed more amused and slightly pleased for some reason.

And so, all of us, the Vikings, and modern day me in my Civil War dress continued our midday meal. The sun had just nudged past its high point and was on its way back towards the horizon. A few of the trees had just a touch of that dried shrively look that precedes their leaf shedding and winter slumber. It would be getting colder soon then. And considering how close to the Arctic Circle we were, it was going to get a lot colder. I wasn't dressed to be this far north, so this was yet another thing I had to worry about.

I refocused on the moment and the meal. A wooden plate/slab had been passed to me and the kids since one of the men had finished eating. We did receive some of the fish, but we had to share it. Hungry as I was, I tried to be fair as we split it up. Not the sort of thing I'd ever order in a restaurant, but it was okay. The butter was overpowering. When I finally got a drink of the milk, it reminded me of the milk I had at the Compton's house, like it came straight from the cow. I guess these Vikings loved their dairy products. Gunnar had gotten a stone as we finished. He placed some of the nuts on the slab and was using the stone to break them open. Gesturing at me to continue, he went back to his sentry duty.

Which was a good thing, since Angry Moe decided to amble by while shooting me nasty looks. Gunnar stared up at the older man, placing a boyish hand on his knife's handle, the meaning was plain. It was tempting to stick my tongue out at Moe, just to see what would happen. Would Gunnar defend me? I had a lovely visual of Gunnar stabbing Moe with his knife. It would be like watching the Viking version of the Jerry Springer show. Instead of watching fat relatives slapping each other, it would be muscular relatives stabbing each other.

I kept my tongue in my mouth and kept crushing the nuts for the kids and myself. They turned out to be hazelnuts, and were quite tasty.

Suddenly, Papa Smurf clapped his hands which generated some scurrying as everyone hurried to finish eating.

I guess we were back to the evaluation of me.

The Vikings were bustling to get back to their places and put away all the flotsam from our meal. The women were putting items away as the slave guys disposed of uneaten food, trash and cleaned off serving items.

It's funny, but when most people think of the Vikings what comes to mind is battle, invasions, horned helmets and all that. History never talks about them sitting down and discussing problems in a civilized manner. But then, it's just not as exciting is it?

My stomach tightened up in anticipation of what Papa Smurf was going to do. Everyone had their eyes on him, including me. To my surprise, he spoke to me directly and gestured for me to approach him. This must have surprised a few of his Viking warriors because some of them shifted towards him in a protective circle while muttering the whole time.

Picking up my bag, I shuffled towards him, trying not to look guilty of anything.

I wasn't offered a seat, so I just stood there nervously awaiting my fate while all eyes were upon me. Papa Smurf picked up a long stick and started drawing lines into the dirt between us. He spoke to me and gestured around us as he drew a circle with three lines spiraling out from it like spokes on a wheel. Okay, he was drawing the clearing we were in. I crouched down in front of him and nodded along.

"I get it", I said, and gestured around us so he would know I was following him.

Pointing at one of the spiraling lines, he gestured in the direction of the path that Eric and I had traversed to get here. Then he pointed towards the path he and the rest of the Vikings had come from as he dragged the stick along another spiral. Once he got to the end of the spiral, he started drawing what looked like long skinny houses.

"So that's your village?" I asked, even though I knew no one would understand me.

He thumped his own chest and waved his hand to encompass all the others there. So that would be a yes. We were doing pretty well here. I guess this is why he was the Big Dog. Extending the stick out towards me, he gestured and spoke in an encouraging manner. Pointing down at the little "map" we had going, he pointed at me and said something that was definitely a question.

So, the big question for him was: Where was I from? As the leader of this village he had to think about his people's safety, especially this time of year. While we had been eating, I had gotten visuals from the others. Those visuals involved harvesting, processing, and storing various crops. Winter here was no joke and they had to be ready. Starvation was a real threat.

I set my bag on the ground next to me and thought for a minute. Here was my chance to prove I didn't pose any threat to these people. But how am I going to explain where I came from? Even if they understood my language, it's not like I could say that Eric was going to become a vampire in the future and would try to save me from an evil fairy. (Hey, I try to not be judgemental, but if you try to kill me, you're evil in my book). I couldn't say I came from anywhere nearby or anyplace they would have traveled. They already knew I was "foreign" in the truest sense of the word.

Then it came to me. I traced the stick back towards where Eric and the Stooges had found me. Drawing the cliff, I added wavy lines for the ocean next to it. Then I drew a very childish, ugly boat on the waves. Papa Smurf sat quietly watching and stroking his beard as I did this. Murmurs and mutterings started erupting from the crowd. I drew a line going from the boat out into the wild blue yonder. Moe's suspicious voice suddenly interjected my little demonstration, but Papa Smurf silenced him with an abrupt look and hand slashing through the air.

My big ugly boat developed a crack in its side and sank. Drawing a smaller boat next to it, I drew a stick figure (me) in it. Then the small boat drifted towards the shore where I got out and made my way onto the cliff.

The muttering got a lot louder now and everyone started expressing their opinion of my little Story of How I Ended Up On Your Turf. Granted, if a ship had gone under nearby, there should be pieces of it coming to shore, but it's a big ocean. And my story wasn't exactly solid, but they didn't have any proof it wasn't true either did they? I'd like to see Gil Grissom poke holes in that.

There was lots of much more unorganized talking this time. Lots of hand waving and a little bit of yelling as everyone expressed their opinion as to my veracity. Angry Moe, of course, appeared to be of the opinion I was a bald face liar. And he was right, but he couldn't prove it could he?

Papa Smurf put his hands up, which got everyone to shut up. He spoke slowly and definitively. Shivering a little, I sat back in my spot next to Eric's kids. The sun was sinking and the temperature along with it. But that wasn't the only reason I was shivering. Once he finished speaking, most everyone calmed down. Moe seemed to be fairly pleased, which was a bad sign. Eric crouched next to his leader and spoke softly to him. Papa Smurf's capped head nodded along to what Eric was saying, but then he patted Eric's shoulder in an apologetic way.

Yeah, this was a bad sign.

TBC

_I'm still struggling with the final 3rd of this chapter , but I felt guilty about you guys having to wait so long and you've all been really sweet about it, so I decided to give you what I had ready . If all goes to plan, it should be completed by next weekend and I'll post it next week sometime. It will be short since it'll be the end section of this chapter. _

_Thanks so much for your continued interest and support_!


	9. Chapter 9

A_/N As always, Charlaine Harris owns everything, I own nothing, nada, zero, zip, zilch_

_You'll note at the end of this chapter, that it's not quite finished yet. Unfortunately, last night's TrueBlood episode blew out all my brain cells and I was unble to finish writing this chapter. I also didn't want to make you guys wait any further cuz you've been so nice and patient about updates. Hopefully, I'll finish this next weekend. _

_I have a present for you all, you'll see what it is at the end of the chapter. It seems my writers block has disappeared for the moment. Hooray!_

The sky was changing colors as the sun sank and took my hopes along with it. Rubbing my arms, I felt a thrill of fear run through my body as I contemplated what was going to happen to me. Then little miss Red Hair came over to me with my spoon and a fur cloak. She spoke rapidly, but from all her gesturing I understood that she wanted to trade the fur cloak for the spoon. Well, I had more spoons and I didn't want to freeze to death, so agree I did. She walked away pleased with herself, apparently feeling like she got the better deal.

I didn't care.

The cloak had a musky scent to it, but the fur was so soft and it was warm. As soon as I pulled it around me, I felt better. I tried not to think about what poor animal or animals had died for it since I was focused on my own survival at the moment. Plus, it's not like I've never worn leather shoes or eaten pork chops. Now that it appeared the sun was dropping with increasing speed, the Vikings were getting their camp ready for the night. The slave guys were keeping busy, as they came back into camp dragging old tree limbs and such.

While all this was going on the two pairs of Vikings who had trotted off earlier in the day had returned. Everyone had stopped and curiously listened in on their report to Papa Smurf. I didn't have to understand the language to know that they had nothing to report. No invading armies or foreigners were following me, which I already knew. Papa Smurf and the other older men relaxed substantially after this.

There was a general sense of purpose as the campfire's flames rose higher from the additional wood being place upon it. These Vikings didn't seem to have any issues with regards to the decision their leader had made (which I was still clueless on). Their little meeting was done, everything had been hashed out and discussed and now it was over. I guess they were the kind of people who don't second guess themselves. That explains a lot about Eric doesn't it?

A sharp cry interrupted my musings. Ulf had been chewing a little too roughly with his wooden toy and now one of its ears had come off. He was going to wear his teeth down to nothing before he was an adult if he kept this up. Ingrid, Gunnar and I gathered around as Ulf's face started turning red and he began to cry.

"You're okay, it's going to be fine Ulf", I said, trying to sound soothing, as I crouched down next to him. It didn't work. I put my hand out for the toy to see if I could fix it, but he just started crying louder and snatched it closer, afraid I would take it I guess.

Then two long legs strode over to take a look at what all the fuss was about since most everyone else was just glancing over in typical bemused adult fashion. Eric looked down at his son and spoke in a chiding manner. Ulf gazed back up at his father with tears streaming like a river down his red cheeks, and held up his toy in an offering known to father's everywhere: Please Fix It his little face clearly said.

Hunkering down, Eric accepted the animal while still speaking amusedly to his son. Viking boys don't get to show weakness, no matter their age. I tried not to see Eric as cruel for this. Teaching his son to be strong was a matter of survival, both for his son and for their village. Taking out his knife, Eric started whittling atthe little animal's head while me and his kids watched the careful operation. The knife he was carrying wasn't designed for whittling , but he managed. Once he was done, the little animal ( I still wasn't sure what it was supposed to be: cow? horse? dog?) now had two very tiny notched ears.

Little Ulf calmed down during all these ministrations and his older brother made suggestions as Eric worked on it. Eric smiled and handed the animal back to Ulf who was pleased with the "repairs". Gently patting his son's head and wiping the tears from his face, Eric said something that sounded like "See? No big deal, it's fine". Tucking his long hair behind his ears, he glanced at me and winked as he stood back up. Ingrid and Gunnar were patting their younger sibling's back and speaking in the same chiding tone as their father had. Probably reiterating that crying over something like a toy was a silly thing to do.

I had wanted to cry with him, but for very different reasons. It was getting dark and everyone was rewrapping themselves in cloaks and blankets as they settled down against the log seats. The nippy factor was jumping back in now that the sun wasn't there to lend its warmth. Fortunately, the fur cloak I was wearing was keeping me warm enough, and thank goodness for the wool stockings on my legs. But the grubbiness factor was not contributing to an overall hopeful, happy mood.

I wanted to wash my face and take a shower, a HOT shower which at this point would even rank ahead of my shower with my Eric when he had amnesia. I wanted to sleep in a soft, clean bed with pillows. I wanted to put on a cuddly robe, heat up a Freschetta pizza, and watch television. I wanted to pick up the telephone and call someone, even my shitty brother.

I wanted to feel safe.

And I wanted to get out of this outfit, wash it thoroughly and return it to Betty Jackson. Assuming of course, I'd be able to get this outfit clean after all it had been through. I'm pretty sure the reenactors hadn't designed this dress for time travel and run ins with Vikings.

None of that was going to happen. Maybe it would never happen again.

Mounds of people were settling onto the cold ground, since their day had started early and they were used to living by the regimented structure of the sunrise and sunset. Other than feeling like I had a layer of dirt on me an inch thick that would need to be scrapped off with a putty knife, I was comfortable enough. I was being ignored, which was fine.

Eric came back over, having wandered off to speak with someone. He had brought over blankets for his kids and one for me, which surprised me.

"Thank you Eric", I said as sincerely as I could. This bearded human stranger winked at me again as he set himself to lying down next to his children. I put my shopping bag under my head, like I had the night before.

I hadn't slept with such a large group of people since a slumber party I'd attended when I was ten years old. Ironically, this group was more restful since they were falling asleep fast and I couldn't read their thoughts. A large group of preteen girls hyped up on pizza, soda and candy is much worse believe me. It also helped that they had posted several men to stay awake and stand guard while the rest of us slept. Two of them stood near the head honcho which made sense. They were all alert and speaking softly to each other to pass the time.

A bit nervous, I glanced at the dark woods surrounding our campsite, but detected no "voids" that would alert me to a vampire's presence.

Eric seemed to fall asleep almost immediately, but then if he had stayed awake the previous night that would make sense. Me and my modern day biological clock was still ticking away for the moment. I glanced over at him as the light from the fire's flames licked his tanned face. When vampires "sleep", they don't look like they're sleeping. They just look dead, as in corpse dead. It's not adorable or attractive. I couldn't help but stare at Eric's bearded face, with his mouth hanging open a little. Isn't it funny how men look like rumpled little boys when they sleep? Even extremely tall, bearded, long haired Viking ones and with his kids draped all over him, it added to the effect. His daughter was using his shoulder as a pillow as her older brother slept against her back. And the littlest Northmen had decided that Eric's stomach and chest made a perfect bed. He was lying right on top of Eric, still clutching his precious toy with one pudgy hand. Eric had draped his cloak over his son and one of his large hands rested on his little back.

Eric loved his kids, he really loved them. His actions weren't typical of what I was used to, but then these were Old School child rearing methods and who was I to judge? But his love for them glowed from his being like a warm lantern. It reminded me of Bill and his pride for his son's being so responsible and getting the pumpkins in when we had gone to town. Before, I had vaguely understood that Bill had had a family that was lost to him when he was made vampire, but I had never really given much consideration for Eric. It's hard for a human to grasp pain and suffering that occurred one thousand years ago.

But lying there watching Eric sleeping deeply (he snored a little) with his children draped around him like little satellites orbiting their own private sun, I started to have an inkling of what he'd given up as well.

They were a picture of peace and home.

I wondered if I ever slept this way. I assumed I had when my grandmother was alive. And when she was murdered it was a like a section of myself had been murdered along with her, never to return. Rolling over onto my back, I stared up at the insane number of stars in the sky. Modern lighting drowns out their sparkle, but seeing them as they were now made me understand why primitive man had deduced they were being watched by them. I wondered if they would watch over me, especially if I never made it back home.

I had forgotten to say my prayers the night before and look what had happened. I made sure not to forget them this night.

There was total déjà vu the following morning as I stiffly woke up. All the Vikings had left. How such a large group of people could skedaddle so quietly was beyond me. Eric was tying up a few bundles of wrapped fur and wool blankets, while I peered around the campsite with bleary eyes. The sun was clear of the horizon and Eric was ready to go. Oh boy, talk about a morning person. Maybe it was a good thing I'd met him when he was a vampire, since I didn't exactly consider myself to be the morning type. He came over and waved a little rolled bundle while pointing at my bag. Okay, it was mine to carry I guess. There was plenty of room in the grocery bag, so I stuffed the roll into it.

A nice size piece of cheese was sitting on the log next to me, so that was my breakfast. After taking my morning pee break and grabbing the cheese, we were on our way. My heart fell once I realized we were NOT taking the path that led back to Eric's village, the path the Vikings had come from yesterday. And we weren't going back the way we came either. Instead, we were going down one of the other paths.

I should mention that these paths didn't look like pathways in some spots. This vast forest pushed into it and tried to take back its rightful space. Eric could see where the pathway was, but in some places I couldn't see it at all. If you put him in the middle of Shreveport, he'd get completely lost, but here, I was out of my element.

The bundles Eric was carrying bounced along in front of me as I stared at his back and trudged through the wilderness. Dropping my shields, I focused on Eric's thoughts, trying to figure out where he was taking me. The images I saw were not reassuring.

He was taking me to what appeared to be a village with a market? Visuals of buying and selling flitted thru his mind like a hummingbird. Was it a slave market…maybe?

Cold dread creeped down my limbs and I wanted to cry and scream, hell I wanted to beat Eric up. I had saved his LIFE for pete's sake, wasn't that worth something?

There was something else in his mind, an anticipation of meeting someone. Maybe he was going to trade or give me to someone he knew? That would be preferable to being sold on the open market, as weird as that may sound. I remembered studying American slavery in school and the drawings of African slaves being auctioned off. A few angry tears rolled down my cheeks and I quickly wiped them away.

My fear of going to this village was superseded by the possibility that I may be stuck here for good. Would being separated from Eric affect that? Maybe I could only time jump if I was near him? It just couldn't be coincidental that I had landednear first Bill and then Eric on two separate jumps, no way. With all the billions of humans who've lived and died on this planet and centuries of history, it wasimpossible. I was terrified of Eric leaving me with some strangers who would do god knows what. But then, if Eric was fated to become a vampire it wouldn't matter would it? He wouldn't be around much longer anyway right? Or maybe it would be like my previous trip; if Eric was Turned, I'd jump again?

Of all the fears in the world, the fear of the unknown obliterates them all.

I had to stay with Eric as long as possible. Even if that meant being some kind of slave, since I had no illusions about marriage here. I had nothing to offer him with regards to property or political ties. This and babies were what women offered men until very recent "magical" ability had frightened the people in his village, of this I had no doubt. A healthy woman of child bearing age would be of value here, so that was the only possible explanation. Angry Moe's fears and my strange appearance urged caution. I was an unknown risk they weren't willing to take, which is why I was being marched toward some other poor unsuspecting village. It was time for action.

In the course of my internal dialogue, I had missed the sounds of the forest. We were coming near another stream, which was great. More tasty water would hit the spot and give me more time to consider what to do about Eric. Eric turned into another side pathway near an odd twisted looking tree, which was the equivalent of a neon sign here

The twisted tree was a reflection of the path which was also odd and very twisty. I had to watch my step so I didn't turn an ankle. We meandered for maybe ten minutes down this path, brushing past bushes and even some cheerful tiny wildflowers that managed to bloom in this climate.

Then, we walked into a miniature paradise.

It was a small clearing dominated by a small pond next to a slow rising rocky cliff face. As I had mentioned before, as we walked further away from the ocean where I had first met up with Eric and the Three Stooges, the ground was slowly rising. A small waterfall poured out of the rocks and tumbled down into the pond, then spilled over some other rocks to our left and continued on its way. It was surrounded by tree's ringing it almost like a private resort. Actually, the twisty path we had taken was probably the only way you could get in here without doing some rock climbing. The rushing, pounding of the water echoed into this small clearing much louder than its size. It was so picturesque, I half expected a fairy to come out and rudely tell us to "move along".

"It's gorgeous Eric!" I couldn't help but exclaim. Eric smiled down at me, seeming to understand. For a moment, I forgot that I was probably about to be sold into slavery and would live out the rest of my natural days in arduous toil. It was that beautiful. I had always wondered what it would be like to travel to far away stunning locations, now I knew.

I jerked myself out of my dazed state and followed Eric to a couple large rocks that were pinned against each other like commuters on a rush hour train. Once again, we dipped our hands into the crystal clear water and drank as much and as deeply as we wanted. Sitting back on my heels, I contemplated whether I might be able to wash up a little, even though the water was really cold. Suddenly, there was metal clanging and soft thumps beside me.

Eric had started removing some of his clothing. Actually, it appeared he was going to remove ALL his clothing.

Okay.

Not being sure what he was doing, I glanced away towards the frothing water sparkling in the light of the sun that was now almost directly overhead. I had to lean my face into my hand to block out the body odor wafting in my direction as the rest of his clothes hit the ground. He set a couple small boxes on the edge of the large rock I was sitting on and jumped in. The cold water splashing back made me jump a little, but that was nothing compared to the loud yell he let out when he hit the water.

He disappeared under the water just long enough for me to get nervous and yell out, "Eric!" His head popped back up with a questioning expression that made me laugh. With his long hair and beard all wet, he looked like a long lost Allman brother who'd gotten misdirected trying to get to Woodstock. "You scared me Eric!" I scolded, while wagging my finger at him. His eyes just twinkled brightly as he laughed at me. Some things don't change.

It was amazing to me that he could stand this water temperature. I was dipping my hands and washing up my face a little, but goodness it was COLD. Eric floated and swam around for a few minutes, gazing up at the sky. It was hard to get a fix on what he was thinking. While floating still a visual came into his head of a woman's face. She had a kind, strong face with intelligent gray eyes that peered out from under a cap of shining, chestnut hair. There was grief mixed in with loneliness as he thought of her. A stab of pain accompanied a picture of her lying dead in a tomb with Eric's hands placing a tiny dead baby on her chest. I felt tears welling up in my eyes as I quickly erected my shields to block out his private pain. Glancing at him, I noticed his eyes were closed as he floated like a long, giant log in the swirling water.

So, his wife was dead, from childbirth no doubt. This explained why she hadn't accompanied his children to the campsite. Death during childbirth had been so common during this time period, but that didn't make the grief less great.

Abruptly, Eric splashed his way into an upright position. The water must not have been too deep, because it came up to his shoulders as he walked his way back over. It was hard not to stare at his body as he slowly came into shallower water. As a vampire, his skin color resembled white Italian marble. His human skin color had variation and shadings of healthy skin that was so beautiful on someone with the body of a Roman statue. And right now, there were goose pimples from the cold water he was trudging through.

When he got to the rock, the water only went up to his thighs and I had to slap my hand over my mouth to stop a giggle from rising out of my throat. The water was really, really cold and this Eric was human. Male vampires don't have issues with …ahem…shrinkage… since their bodies are technically dead anyway. Seeing the Gracious Plenty shrunk down to half size and ….pink….well.

Even with my hand over my mouth, a tiny snort escaped my nose, and Eric noticed. He looked down at himself, looked back at me and shrugged with a smile. There was no embarrassment at all, so a healthy ego was something Eric had already possessed before he was made vampire. I felt my face flushing a little, which just caused Eric to burst out laughing.

Yep, a Mcmansion sized ego, that was my Eric alright. I was starting to get comfortable with this guy. Can you beat that? And this was with no blood bond, fairy blood attraction, or any other vampire baloney.

Eric opened the little wooden boxes he'd place on the rock. There were various toiletries jammed in them and one appeared to have some kind of soap. At least, I assumed it was soap since Eric rubbed it between his hands and starting scrubbing it all over himself. It was white/black/brownish, very nasty looking pasty stuff.

"May I, please?" I said, while pointing at the nasty soap. Eric nodded and handed it to me. I tried not to notice he was casually rubbing it between his legs while addressing me. Talk about possessing ZERO modesty, I swear. Well, I wasn't like this, but I needed to wash up a little bit at least. Being grubby was killing me. I couldn't stand it any longer. And it wasn't like there were other people here, so I decided I'd at least take off the dress, the petticoats and the corset. Getting the corset back on would have been a problem, except it was now a little loose from my low calorie/high activity time travel adventure. I figured I'd be able to get it hooked again without retying it in the back.

Eric stopped what he was doing and watched, fascinated as I removed the complicated clothing. Once he realized I wasn't going to remove all my clothing, I sensed disappointment as he went back to his toilet. The soap felt as nasty as it looked, but it seemed to work kind of okay. I would have killed for a bar of Ivory Soap right now. While I washed up with the nasty soap, Eric had moved on to trimming his beard with some sissors. He was using a small, flat silver disc that was polished really well to look at himself while he did so. Ear cleaning followed as he poked around his ears with what almost looked like a teeny tiny spoon. Once he rinsed it off, he offered it to me.

"No thank you Eric", I said with a smile as I tried not to gag. After all he was just being polite. It wasn't his fault I didn't think we were at a metal Q-tip sharing point in our relationship. He shrugged and put it back in the little carved box with the mirror and sissors. There were other items in there, like a razor etc. Everything a hairy Viking needs to look good.

In the meantime, I was trying to wash up various parts of my anatomy without putting on a show for Eric. It wasn't working. The washing up with the nasty soap, the extremely cold water and being partially clothed was definitely good entertainment for Eric. He just kept staring at me unabashedly and amused down to his toes, which I could now see since he was washing them too. Well, at least he didn't have BO anymore.

He had jumped back into the water and rinsed off really well. When he came back over, I was studiously washing my feet on the edge of the rock (Halloween orange toe nail polish also gone). Then one of his large hands reached over and gently grasped my right foot. I glanced over at him. His blue eyes held mine steadily, and he smiled pleasantly and without any hint of a leer.

I took a deep breath. I had to do something and my options were running out. In modern times, it would make me a "ho", here it would make me a survivor. A couple things occurred to me; 1. due to our communication issue, "no" wouldn't mean no here, so if I let things progress, there would be no stopping 2. I could get pregnant, God help me! Counting rapidly in my head, I tried to remember my last period. Would it even matter since I was traveling thru time? How the Hell would that mess with your cycle? What are the odds? Granted women got pregnant from having sex once, but it was uncommon…right? And what about disease? I could see everything on Eric and everything looked pretty darn healthy to me.

Survival came first, I'd deal with other things later. I had to stick with Eric, somehow. It helped that he acted more like my Eric when he had Amnesia. I also think it was helping that he'd seen me turn a guy to ash a couple nights before. So he was inclined to not be pushy or forceful. It never hurts to have men be a little afraid of you.

I took another breath and reached my hand out to cover his. For a few seconds we both froze like statues, looking at my small hand lying comfortably on his much larger one. Eric quickly sloshed closer and vaulted himself out of the water. He spread out the fur cloaks we had been wearing and patted them with one hand while reaching out to me with the other.

Whoopee with Eric on a fur cloak in broad daylight, out in the open on a big rock.

Okay.

I can handle this, I think.

My stomach shook a little from sheer nerves, but once I allowed Eric to pull me down on top of him, I felt something. No, not what you would think. Once I was pressed down on him, I was noticing all the ways he was different from my Eric.

Even with the cold water on his skin, I could feel his body heat through the chemise I was wearing. But the most startling thing was his heartbeat against my breasts. It was beating very fast. He was nervous too! Looking this closely at his face, I realized that this Eric was probably younger than me. Boy, that will give you something to consider won't it? And with all my experience with two VERY experienced vampires and one shifter, I was the more "seasoned" person lying on this rock. Now doesn't that beat all?

Knowing he was a little scared too helped me calm down. I lay there for a few moments just stroking his face and gazing into those familiar eyes that were going to see so much. The beard was a novelty to me, so I played with that a little. It was much softer than I had anticipated. Eric smiled gently and yanked at the various items in my hair. He wanted to see it down of course, typical guy. I sat up on him, enjoying the hardening I could feel underneath me. Unfortunately, Sarah's perfect hair styling was going to go for now. I'd never get it back up on my own.

Once everything was out and carefully stowed in my trusty bag, I turned my attentions back to Eric. He was lying with his arms up and his head resting on his folded hands. The sun shone high over head , spreading it's light across the peaks and valleys of his face and body. Even wet, his hair was a gorgeous gold shade from having never been subjected to blow dryers, chemicals, chlorine and the like. And of course, I'd never seen his eyes in the sunlight before. They had always been a beautiful blue, but here they looked warm the way the Caribbean waters seem even in pictures.

I told myself to memorize this moment since once he was Turned he would never be this golden again.

TBC

_I know, I know...not nice. Also, you hardcore Ericfans, before you get too excited, please remember this is T RATED. I won't be changing the rating for awhile longer. _

_Alright, I wrote a little present to thank you all for being so nice and patient during my dry spell. I've already posted it, it's a Oneshot located in the Trueblood section , title: Dream A Little Dream of Me, its Sam's little erotic Bill dream, taken a further. Enjoy and thanks again everyone for your continued support and patience_.


	10. Chapter 10

_A/N Charlaine Harris owns everything, I own nothing, nada,zero, zip ,zilch_

_I have no beta so all screwups are my very own. _

_STORY UPDATES: I've updated Bill and Eric's Excellent Adventure! So those of you who liked human boy Bill and Eric, they're back! _

First things first, was this Eric as talented in the love making department as my Eric?

Um, no.

Was he as skillful as Bill?

Um, no.

Both vampires had had decades, or in Eric's case centuries, to perfect their techniques down to a fine art, an art that I had maybe taken for granted just a smidge. This Eric would be more in the realm of Quinn's skill level, very enjoyable but not reaching those toe tingling Mount Everest levels of satisfaction.

What he lacked in experience and skill though, he made up for in enthusiasm and good humor. Even without being able to understand each other's language, we jelled quickly as we laughed and rolled around on the fur bed in the warm sunlight. His playfulness was infectious and for a short while I forgot about my current dilemma and just enjoyed myself. Originally I had left my chemise on, but with Eric tugging and pulling at it, I feared it would get torn; so off it came.

I'd been worried about receiving his thoughts with this much contact, but he was pretty focused, much to my relief. Since he was my first human lover, I'd been concerned about receiving all sorts of images of other women and such. And he got really REALLY focused once he'd entered me. I actually cried out a little. I'd forgotten how large he was and how it felt, but he kept talking to me like he was trying to "talk me through it". He said my name over and over in a soothing way.

It was this old language that I had heard Eric use a few times before in bed, but he didn't speak the same way. My Eric spoke with a measured force that exhibited his power and position. Even when he was relaxed, that constant thoughtfulness was always there, that he was thinking about what he said, before he said it. This Eric seemed so much more spontaneous, but then, he was a young man wasn't he?

Giggling is not something I would ever associate with Eric either, but I got to experience that too. And I had to laugh with him because it just struck me as so funny to hear him giggle as he tackled my boobs like he'd never seen any before. The golden beard tickled me as he buried his face into my skin. I lay on a fur covered rock, under a sunlit sky, my arms wrapped around Eric as I'd never seen him: young, excitable, fresh with joy in the moment.

I didn't want it to end.

Post whoopee, we lay coiled around each other, gazing up at the deep blue sky watching fluffy clouds go by, or at least I did. Eric was basking in a lovely afterglow which I did not share. I came close, but no cigar. Worrying about being sold into slavery will do that to you. He kept snuggling close to me, stroking my hair, giving my bottom friendly squeezes here and there. The novelty of hearing his heartbeat kept me hovering near his chest. I pressed my cheek against his warmth and listened to its steady rhythm.

After a while, he heaved a long sigh and said my name, followed by a regretful sounding little statement. Sitting up, he started pulling his smelly clothes back on. Taking the hint, I followed suit. As I had suspected, getting my corset back on wasn't too hard since it was now a little loose on me. Everything else went on easily enough, although I struggled with the ties a little. It wasn't like Eric was that big of a help. Putting dirty clothes back on always sucks though. It just felt gross since I'd gotten my skin kinda sorta semi clean.

Dunking some type of water bag/skin into the pond, he filled it up, then followed with another. They swelled and sloshed as he tossed them back onto the rock. As we were getting ourselves together and swinging the various bags/bundles onto our shoulders, Eric pulled something out of one of them and handed it to me. It looked like some kind of jerky, who knows what kind of animal it was. But I've eaten a Slim Jim or two, so I gave it an experimental bite. It wasn't as spicy as the jerky I was used to in Louisiana, and it was a bit gamey, but I wasn't about to be picky.

We made our way back up the little crooked pathway and merged onto the main path. The jerky was really chewy and I had to work it a little. No wonder so many of these people were missing teeth, besides the whole issue of no dentists, toothbrushes, and fluoride.

So, I trudged through the forest, following Eric's broad back and bouncing bundles while chewing and gnawing my genuine Viking made jerky. I wasn't sure how much time had passed although I was getting used to following the sun's path across the sky like everyone else. It had been a couple hours and I noticed that Eric was slowing down. I couldn't read his literal thoughts of course, but emotionally he seemed ….unhappy?

Trotting up next to him, I grasped his large hand to me and asked, "Are you okay Eric?" I wasn't expecting an answer of course, but I hoped he would understand my tone. He looked down at me with an uncommon Eric expression, one of uncertainty. He said my name and answered me with an exasperated, regretful expression. I patted his hand a little, not knowing what else to do.

Suddenly, he swung his long arms around me and held me tightly against him while stroking my long hair which was still unbound and cascading past my shoulders. I snuck my arms around his torso with my face buried in the musty furs and waited. It seemed he was having a tiny bit of a crisis.

This was good.

It may seem a little selfish of me to be happy about his crisis between what he wanted and what his village elders had decided, but hey…this was survival time honey and Sookie Stackhouse wasn't going down without a fight. If his village got a little ticked at him for hauling me back into their midst, so be it.

Eric tilted my face upwards so he could look at me more closely. His bearded lips pressed tightly together as his hands squeezed my shoulders. Those big blue eyes stared intensely into mine as he seemed to come to a decision. Leaning over, his warm lips melded to mine, then again and again. I ignored his jerky breath and returned his kisses while holding him as tightly as I could. When he finally broke away from me, he was smiling.

"Suukyaa", he murmured, as he reach out and tucked my hair behind my ears. Shaking his blond mane, he turned and picked up the bundles he had dropped in the process of our little make out session. Waving me to follow, he turned back and started walking briskly back the way we had come. He let out a self conscious barking laugh as we started trekking back.

Mission accomplished.

I hustled to keep up with him. Now that he was all gunned up I didn't want to give him a reason to change his mind. Not to mention, it was late afternoon and the sun would start falling into the horizon in a couple hours. It would be unlikely that we would make it back to the campground and impossible for us to make it back to his village with the daylight we had left.

What kind of reaction would we get when we got there? Everyone had seemed pretty content to have me G O N E and the village leaders had made a final decision. Would there be repercussions for Eric? I shook my head vigorously. I had gotten this far by not thinking too far ahead. Sticking to that plan seemed to be working, so I would stick to it now.

It was tiring, keeping up with Eric. He wasn't slowing down for me like he had before. He was expecting me to keep up and he was striding pretty quickly. My legs were a lot shorter than his and I had to take two steps to his every one. I was panting with my heavy skirts really starting to weigh me down as they whipped around my legs as we speed walked through the forest. We had passed the crooked tree, so we were definitely on the same pathway back.

The sun had passed the top edge of the trees and was peeking pink and orange watery rays as it started to disappear. Eric came to an abrupt stop in a small clearing, looked around and proceeded to drop his bundles on the ground. I guess this was where we were stopping for the night. Once I saw he was starting to gather firewood, I ran around trying to help him. He cleared a spot for a fire and repeated his actions with the little stone and metal firestarter as he had a couple nights before.

I huddled next to him as he patiently struck the stone over and over until he got sparks and created a little flamed beginning. At this point, I realized that I was scared. We were alone in this forest, truly alone. We had been walking all day and seen no one on this trail. Given the time of year, it seemed everyone was too busy harvesting and storing food for the winter to be traipsing around visiting each other. If something happened, we'd be on our own. It was a good thing I'd gotten some sleep the night before since it was unlikely I'd be getting any tonight.

Once we'd gathered enough firewood to keep us going for the night, we settled down next to the flames. Eric unrolled a couple of the bundles with wool blankets and some type of animal skin for us to sit on. Dinner consisted of some of the water from the little pond we'd washed in (the skin it was in affected the taste somewhat) and more cheese and jerky. We polished all that off with a few more of those tart dried berries that Eric happened to had stuck in one of his little bags.

It was a miracle Eric had gotten so big on this type of diet. Maybe when he wasn't dragging around a slowpoke woman wearing a Civil War Reenactor's dress, he got busy clubbing caribou and eating them by himself, who knows?

Darkness falls fast in this part of the world, I can tell you that. We pulled the blankets tightly around our fur covered selves as the temperature started dropping with the oncoming night. We leaned against each other as close to the fire as possible. I was kind of happy to see he was chilled a bit too, so I could feel like less of a weenie.

Lowering my shields, I scanned the area around us repeatedly for any signs of people or god forbid, vampires again. Hopefully, Mr One Armed Vampire was still sleeping off his injury in his hidey hole somewhere and wasn't going to track us for revenge or something. Eric's thought processes were going a mile a minute with the faces of people from his village dominating them. His main concern was what was going to happen when we got to his village I'm sure. Between worrying about Mr One Arm and Eric's worries, the one thing I didn't have to worry about was getting sleepy.

And so we sat, gazing at the flickering light holding back the night. Periodically, Eric would toss some of the wood we had collected onto the fire, causing little sparks to fly into the trees. I hoped he knew what he was doing. Getting caught in the middle of a forest fire would just be too much piling on top of everything else I was dealing with right now.

It was remarkable, now that I had time to think about it, that Eric was making this decision. Not that I was sorry mind you. But he had just met me and we didn't even speak the same language. Granted, I gave him a really good time on sunny rock. But I find it unlikely that Eric had trouble finding bed partners, so that couldn't be the only reason. It was odd. Maybe the connection we had in the future wasn't just caused by the blood we had shared. Sometimes people just click you know? And before we had shared blood, I had liked him, when I wasn't being scared of him.

During these musings, my mind was drifting a bit. Eric was managing to doze a little, even though he was in an upright position. And then…..

Vampire!

The negative space that I associated with the undead had come within my range and I bolted upright in my seat.

"Eric!" I said, as I jabbed him in the side and dropped the blanket, looking around wildly. Mr One Arm must have tracked us down for some old style revenge. Eric jolted awake and looked down at me. "Eric" I repeated, "Out there! Get your sword out!" I was waving at the dark forest around us and Eric immediately understood. We both jumped to our feet and Eric drew his sword, standing ready for battle. I drew the stake from my bag and prayed I'd get lucky just one more time.

Unfortunately, God wasn't going to grant this one.

It happened within the blink of an eye. Before modern lighting, vampires had all the advantages at night. Let's face it, smoky burning wood may provide decent warmth, but as lighting…it sucks.

The vampire erupted out of the dark woods, onto Eric and had him on the ground before I could even yell a warning. This wasn't the young one armed vampire we had fought a few nights before. This vampire was old. He knocked Eric's sword out of the way, pinned him down and was drinking from him before Eric even knew what was happening. It was hard to see him, but he wasn't that big. What clothes he was wearing were ripped up dirty rags and he'd been sleeping in the earth judging from his dirty state. And right now he was a dark shadow perched on top of Eric and stealing his life.

Eric, God bless him, was trying to fight him off. He was kicking and yelling incoherently, pulling the vampire's ragged clothing. The vampire's grimy hand was buried in Eric's long golden hair, holding his head back so he could suck from his neck with little effort. Then I realized Eric was yelling my name, "Suukyaa!" His head twisted around as he tried to see where I was. Where I was was standing paralyzed watching from ten feet away, my makeshift stake gripped in my right hand.

I was terrified, my legs didn't want to move. The last vampire I'd seen move this fast had been Queen Sophie Anne's bodyguard Andre. He had been over a thousand years old and was turned when he was a teenager. That hadn't stopped him from becoming a fearsome fighter and I well remembered that even Eric gave him a wide berth.

"Suukyaa!"

It was killing me hearing Eric call my name. I wasn't sure if it was that he was afraid for me or he was impatient for me to use my magic and kill this asshole. But I already knew it wasn't going to be that easy. I decided to try something else. I picked up a rock off the ground and threw it at the vampire's head. My softball coach would have been impressed.

"Hey you!" I yelled as the rock bounced off the vampire's dark hair. Not very articulate, but then I was trying to distract him from draining Eric. The shadow's head jerked up and a set of dark, liquid eyes stared at me with the white fangs shining like neon and Eric's blood dripping from his chin. I stood there like a dummy, yelling louder like he was deaf, "Leave him alone"! Oh, yeah, like that's gonna work. I hadn't thought too far ahead in my little Stop Draining Eric Plan.

So I stood and waited for him to leap off Eric and jump on me. The only good thing is that my death would be quick and painless, most likely. Me and the ancient vampire stared at each other for a few heart pounding moments. Then the only thing that happened was that the vampire laughed. He laughed! A low chuckle like he'd never seen anything as amusing as me. It was hard to decide whether to be relieved or insulted. When he saw the stake in my hand, he started laughing even louder. Then quick as you could blink, he flashed past me, knocking the stake from my hand and was back on top of Eric.

Having proved his point, he sunk his fangs back into Eric who was losing coherency. He kept trying to push the vampire away, but even though Eric was a bigger man and had longer arms it wasn't going to make any difference. You'd think that having spent so much time around vampires and been involved in a few battles, that I've seen people drained before. But in battle, vampires can't take the time to drain someone, they just tear them apart instead. So, I've never actually seen anyone slowly drained until they died.

So, Eric kept pushing at the vampire as hard as he could which wasn't saying much since he was now missing a big portion of his blood. Every once in a while his head would roll back and forth and he would say "Suukyaa?" like he was looking for me.

"I'm here Eric, I'm right here", I replied. Then, just to prove how completely stupid I am, I ran over and started pulling at the vampire's shoulders. Like I could pull this guy off of anything, much less a supersized meal like Eric. It was just impossible to stand there doing nothing. Much to my surprise, the vampire sat up and whipped around to look at me again. I gave a yelp and jumped back a couple feet. The vampire just smiled through the scars on his face, his fang's white shine ruined by Eric's blood clinging to them. Even getting a better look at him in the light of the fire, he still looked like some muscular, prehistoric shadow. Right now, he was a very plumped up, slightly pink looking shadow since he had probably just had his best meal in a long time.

The vampire slithered over to Eric's bundles and started rifling through them. I took the opportunity to go check on Eric, who was pretty out of it by now, but still alive. Even in the firelight, I could tell that he was much paler than before. I kneeled next to him so he could see me while the vampire rummaged amongst Eric's belongings behind me. Eric's eyes were opening and closing in a sleepy manner and he held his hand up to me. I grabbed it and held it firmly to my breast, "I'm right here Eric. I'm here", I repeated. He mumbled something as a response.

A hiss behind me made me jerk around. The vampire had stuck his grimy hand in my grocery bag and something didn't agree with him. It looked like he had yanked his hand out and was flexing it experimentally. I didn't really get a chance to think on that because he suddenly flashed back to Eric. I couldn't help it, I had to back up a little since being so close to this guy was overwhelming. He was probably going to finish Eric. I stood there thinking about what I was going to do to stop that. There were various pieces of wood thrown around from our firebuilding, but what chance did I have against this guy?

To my surprise, he crouched next to Eric and looked down at him. I got a better look at him and his expression unmistakable. I didn't need telepathy to figure out he thought Eric was attractive. The fact that he had started gently stroking Eric's face with his hand was a big hint too. When his hands started going lower, I had to avert my eyes. My eyes started roaming around our little campground and I spotted my stake. If this jerk started doing stuff to Eric, maybe that would be my opportunity to stake him.

The vampire was murmuring something to Eric, so he knew Eric's language. Eric seemed to be hearing him, but spat something back and I mean literally SPAT back. He spit at the vampire, so whatever the vampire had said to him had not been received well. It wasn't like the spit made a big difference to the vampire's dirty clothing. He smiled down at Eric affectionately, patted his face, which caused a short stream of words to emit from Eric's mouth. I'm sure they had nothing good to say about the vampire's character, heritage, or habits.

Then the most shocking thing happened. The vampire left. One minute he was crouched next to Eric and the next he disappeared into the forest like a bat out of hell. I stood there for a few seconds, unsure of what was going on. His "signature" had already disappeared, so he was gone.

I ran over to Eric and checked his neck. The vampire's fang marks were already healing from the saliva that they excrete when they feed. He was conscious, but wavering a bit and he wasn't going to be running any marathons that's for sure. I grabbed the blankets and extra furs and piled them on him since I was scared he would go into shock from the blood loss. Running around the campsite, I snatched up as much of the wood as I could and the flames climbed higher and our little area hotter. Trying to keep Eric warm was my first priority, so I lay down next to him as closely as I could to share my body heat.

Eric was drifting off, but I was wide awake, still pumped from the adrenaline. My mind raced, trying to make sense of what had just happened. Why had the vampire left? He had gotten a nice big meal from Eric. He seemed to really like him, so why leave? It took a little while for my brain to connect all the dots. We were out in the middle of nowhere with no people for miles and miles. The vampire had to know this. Maybe he had already checked the trails we were on and knew no one was coming from either direction. He seemed to really like Eric, but ignored me except when he was laughing at me.

Click went my brain.

He hadn't bothered glamouring us, which just now struck me. He had fed enough to incapacitate Eric, but not kill him. Why?

Click.

Maybe this vampire was Eric's Maker. That meant he would come back for him, but why leave me alive? Well, why kill a helpless woman when I had no place to run to? If he had killed me tonight, I would have been a rotted useless corpse by the time he rose tomorrow night. Why do that when he could just leave me alive and track me later, kind of like storing leftovers in the refridgerator. Plus a vampire this old wouldn't be stupid. He had to know I'd stay with Eric to take care of him.

Was that what I was going to do? I thought about the trails and how far we'd come. Like someone riding in the passenger seat of a car and not paying attention, I hadn't really noted the path we'd been following. I had blindly followed Eric's back the whole way. I could run in the direction of the strange village we'd been heading to, but then even if I got there, how would I ask for help? Or, I could run towards Eric's village, but that was a full day's run away and they didn't exactly want to see my face again. If I showed up yelling Eric's name, some of them might come with me, but by the time we got back here, it wouldn't matter. They would assume I had done something to Eric and that would be that.

But all this was semantics. There was no way I could plow through this forest on my own. Unless, we got lucky and some merry band of Vikings (friendly ones!) came along, Eric and I were toast.

And why was I still here? Why hadn't I leaped out yet? When I had been with human Bill, I had leaped out when Lorena jumped him. Maybe I was wrong and there was no purpose to this time jumping thing. Maybe I was destined to die right here, in the middle of this forest near the top of the world, with Eric.

There was nothing I could do.

"I'm sorry Eric", I murmured in his ear as I held my hand over his still beating heart. And with the spirit of the defeated, believe it or not, I fell asleep.

The gorgeous sunlight hitting my face woke me up the next morning. After taking a second to get my bearings, I quickly slid my hand across Eric's chest. His heart was still beating thank God. I heaved a sigh of relief, leaning against his big chest for a moment. Lying there listening to hardy Northern birds singing and the embers of our dying fire crackle and pop, I suddenly remembered this might be the last day of my life.

"Eric?" I said, as I patted his face a little.

His eyes opened a little and a hand reached out and covered mine. "Suukyaa", he answered.

"Yes, Eric, I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere" I responded. I realized there was no way I could bring myself to leave Eric. I guess I was going to be here until the bitter end.

He made a drinking motion with his hand, so I scampered over to his belongings and dug out one of the water bags and one of the food parcels. I kneeled down and leaned his head against my knees so he could drink and eat without choking. Feeding him little bites of cheese and sips of water….well…it was hard not crying. Eric had no way of knowing what was going to happen to him and there was no way to tell him, so he could prepare himself for it.

The Eric I knew had always seemed comfortable and happy to be a vampire. But he had a thousand years to get that way. And it wasn't like I had ever really asked him about it. Being the pragmatist he is, he would probably say it was a waste of time being unhappy about what could not be changed and he would probably be right. That didn't make me feel any better about Eric being Turned by that dirty gargoyle of a vampire and living out his life creeping around the forest looking for humans like loose change. No wonder he had never mentioned his Maker.

And what about his kids? My memory of the night the police came to the house to inform us of my parents death on that flooded bridge still haunted me from time to time. His children had already lost their mother and now Eric wasn't going to return. And I wasn't the only one thinking about them. Their faces were paramount in Eric's mind when he was awake. The sick feeling I had gotten before Lorena came for Bill was sneaking up on me again. Was there anything I could do for Eric?

I replayed all my options in my head. And then, I replayed them again. I came up with nothing, nada, zero, zip, zilch. Other than killing him, there was no way to stop Eric from being turned into a vampire.

I could kill him.

My breath stopped cold at the thought. Then it restarted once I realized that there was no way I could kill Eric in cold blood, even to save him or myself. If someone attacked me or someone I cared about, that would be different. But to stick a knife in Eric as he lay helpless on the ground? No, I couldn't do it. The Christian part of me that was still around and shaking its tiny fists at me to do the right thing was making itself heard.

All I could do was keep him comfortable and wait. So we did.

I sat with Eric's head on my lap all day, stroking his beard, giving him water and bits of food as needed. He kept fading in and out, but seemed pretty stable physically. It was amazing how strong he was. And for some reason, I started talking to him. I told him how we met or were going to meet. I told him about Pam and how he would like being a vampire, eventually. I told him about all the history he would see and how great modern life was with television, cars, women in bikinis, planes, phones, and the best thing of all: plumbing. When he was a little more awake, I would point at the sun shining in the sky and ask him to look at it and remember.

I sat and held hands with a dying Viking as I watched the sun make its daily march across the sky. Once it disappeared past the trees, the birds quieted as if waiting with us and the forest hushed in anticipation. We had run out of firewood in the immediate area and I didn't want to leave Eric to gather more, so I pulled out one of my genuine beeswax candles and lit it with the hot embers still smoking from the original fire. Its tiny flame flickered in the night like a firefly.

Eric and I were bundled up pretty well and he seemed to be resting when I detected the vampire's presence again. Suddenly, he was in front of us, blending into the night, he was so much a creature of it. I opened my mouth to say something profound, but before I could, I was suddenly flung several feet away. Landing on my posterior, I could hear Eric protesting and thrashing as best he could against the vampire.

I couldn't understand why the vampire hadn't just killed me. Shortly, he'd be pulling Eric with him underground and in a day or so Eric would rise and…and…..he'd need to eat

Click went my brain.

. There would be no Trueblood to take the edge off and I had a very clear memory of Jake Pilferoy. He had been a Were in my previous boyfriend Quinn's employ and had been Turned against his will. When he awoke, Amelia and I had the bad luck to be there and he came after us in the total blood lust of a newly made vampire. That's why this vampire hadn't killed me. I was going to be Eric's first meal, so he wouldn't have to risk taking a freshly Turned out of control vampire near a village.

I had kind of accepted the fact that I was going to die tonight, but for some reason I rebelled against the idea of being baby vamp Eric's first lunchable.

Game on.

The vampire was occupied with Eric. He was draining him and Eric was slowly fading out because I could feel it. It was taking a while since he was being careful with him and Eric was so big. Since I was being ignored, I crawled and felt my way around our little campsite. When I felt the handle of Eric's sword, I knew what I was going to do.

Jumping up and praying I didn't hit Eric by mistake, I jammed the sword down into the vampire as hard as I could. A bellow rang out into the night as the vampire turned and came after me. I hadn't gotten the sword all the way in because it's actually much harder than it looks to jab someone all the way through. The movies make it look so easy. I had figured the vampire would leap onto me and I was ready with my stake. I hadn't figured on tripping over my grocery bag in the dark and falling on my back. The next second the dark figure was upon me, I saw a flash of white fangs gleaming, held up the stake and….

I was falling into the abyss once more.

No scope.

No boundaries.

Merciful silence.

The warmth wrapped around me again like a blanket.

The tiny wavering light was just in my view.

Then came the onslaught.

I came to with noise, smells, jagged edges . It took me a moment to realize I was lying on concrete, maybe a sidewalk? I choked a little from the exhaust that seemed to be permeating the air around me. I could hear people, machinery, cars and feel the vibration of traffic.

Concrete sidewalks?

Pollution?

Cars?

People?

Hooray!

I relaxed a little. My eyes wouldn't open just yet and my body was hurting like I'd been in a major accident this time. I hadn't felt this bad since that beating I'd taken in the basement of the Fellowship of the Sun Church in Dallas. There I had had Bill to take care of me, bath me, dress me, carry me to bed and watch over me. Hell, the way I was feeling right now, I would be tempted to do allow him to do a reenactment.

Sounds were kind of fuzzy and fading in and out. A couple people walked by talking about the economy and people they knew who were out of work. Why wouldn't they stop to help a woman on the sidewalk? I must be in a city. Maybe I wasn't in Louisiana, but up North. That didn't matter. I could call someone, Sam, Eric...hell even my brother ..someone could wire me money for a bus ticket. It sounded like American English being spoken, so I knew I was in the go ole USA.

My fingers idly rubbed the rough concrete and I realized I could also feel my 100% hemp grocery bag against my fingers. I smiled at the thought of this bag traveling all through time with me.

Taking a deep breath, I opened my eyes against the harsh daylight. Squinting, I sat up and glanced around. I was lying in a doorway of a shop with a few other very ragged looking people. Several of them were dozing, one guy was drinking something that was definitely not soda pop. A few women clip clopped their way by, carefully not looking at me or the other people on the ground. They were well dressed with dresses, pumps, hats and gloves; the whole shebang. Was it Sunday?

I rubbed my eyes to clear my vision and looked into the street.

The cars weren't right.

They looked like cars I had seen in old photographs that Gran had shown me from when she was a toddler. There was a typical newsstand about thirty feet away filled with newspapers, magazines, and various items for sale. A boy who couldn't have been more than ten years old was standing in front of it holding up a newspaper for passersby to see. He had a cigarette held firmly between his lips and a bundle of papers in his other arm. The top said Baltimore Sun: morning edition and the headline was this:

PRESIDENT HOOVER TO ADDRESS CONGRESS TODAY

Oh crap.

TBC

_A/N If you remember a conversation Eric had in chapter 2, you'll know what this is headed. I know it's been a while! _

_I realized that I've been writing for over a year now! I've learned a lot and you all have been great. One thing i've definitely learned is that writing a chapter where the main characters can't speak to each other is REALLY hard and I won't be doing it again. LOL! I'm so glad we're back in America and speaking English. We'll be seeing Bill again and a few other vampires we havn't seen in a while. The writing is going much better and now that I can do dialogue (which is fun) , it should go faster. I hope. _


	11. Chapter 11

_A/N As always Charlaine Harris owns all our wonderful vampires and Sookie , some women have all the luck. _

_I have no beta, so all screwy things are totally mine. _

_RECAP: Sookie has time jumped again and landed back in the USA during the earlier part of the twentieth century. Let's see what happens_...

After living the slower pace of "the old days"; what I was experiencing now felt like pandemonium. People, cars, a trolley, and even some horses going by at a hurried speed contributed to the three ring circus atmosphere. I sat up and tried to focus my hurting, tired brain into raising shields that had gotten lazy in my travels to places with minimal people. Concentrating on the newspaper's front page with President Hoover's face on it, the din of people's minds slowly receded.

Gingerly touching my aching body, I evaluated my situation. I was still dressed in my reenactor best, this was good. Not only had my grocery bag with its contents made the time jump with me; but a Viking blanket I had been laying on when the gargoyle vampire jumped on me, had made it also.

I was back in America which was excellent. And I was in the twentieth century with modern (well, fairly modern) technology going on. These were all good things.

The bad news was I had no idea why I had jumped into this time and place. It appeared I was in Baltimore, Maryland which I have no connection to at all. Both times I had time jumped, either Bill or Eric had been there. And I had jumped out when they were about to be Turned, for reasons I had yet to figure out. If this was the 1930's then both of them were now vampires, so there went any speculation about their Turning being related to my time jumping.

There was no way it was a coincidence that the two vampires I had shared blood with were in the vicinity when I jumped through time. So, that meant one or both of them were here right now. Eric and I had never had any real in depth conversations about his past and places he'd lived. The only time we'd ever had any long conversations was when he had amnesia and couldn't remember his past. I tried to remember if Bill had ever mentioned living in this area, but my brain was just too frazzled. Not to mention, as long as Bill has been around with the traveling for his database, he'd probably been through here plenty of times.

I really hoped they were around here someplace and I could find them. Judging by what I was seeing on the newspaper headline and the ragged, tired people lying in the doorway with me, the Depression was in full swing. So, being able to get money, find a place to sleep and food to eat was going to be difficult. Now what I was going to do when I found my vampires, well ..that decision could wait for now. I was doing really well by handling this time jumping thing one step at a time, so that was my plan for the moment. Hey, I was alive and in reasonably good health, so I called that "doing well".

Another item to add to the bad list was that I was dying for a real bath, a hair washing, and my teeth felt like they had fuzz on them. Plus, I'd been wearing my clothes for what felt like forever and the grunge factor was just icking me out. I was afraid to smell myself and see how gross it was. That stupid spray my fairy cousin Claudine had sprayed on me seemed to finally be wearing off a little, just in time for my reintroduction to masses of people. There should be running water and maybe even washing machines around now, right? I would keep my fingers crossed on that front.

Squinting in the morning light, I looked around at where I was. There were a few people lying in the doorway with me, each one appeared worse off than me. Other than the guy drinking, they just sat there staring into space. Their despair washed over me, like someone physically was pulling me down.

A chunky guy came briskly up to the doorway, wearing a brown stripped suit and a matching fedora. Making a sweeping motion with his hand, he barked out, "Hey! You all need to get the hell away from my store or I'll call the cops on you! Now scram, all of you!"

Everyone scattered and I dragged myself up, grabbing my bag and blanket, as I got out of this guy's way. Once I stood up and could see in the windows, I realized it was a pawn shop. This guy wouldn't be yelling if we were all desperately trying to pawn stuff off on him. It didn't matter, I moved along with everyone else.

It was like walking through an old movie. The women all wore dresses or skirts and had hats and gloves. Some men had on three piece suits, but even if they didn't; they always wore a hat. The newsstands looked the same as current day in a way; they had newspapers, magazines, candy, gum and cigarettes for sale. I saw other kids holding up newspapers, yelling out the headlines to entice potential buyers. There were men getting their shoes shined by young boys, many of whom were also smoking like the newsstand boy I had seen.

It appeared the area I was in had a mixture of businesses and apartments. Most of the buildings were stone and brick, with only a few in my sight being over five stories. All the businesses had large windows with displays of their various wares and services. Some of them had "whites only" signs in the windows. There were some black people mixed in with the whites I was passing. I noticed that the black people would often step aside to allow the whites to pass if the uneven sidewalks were too narrow. I gritted my teeth and reminded myself that America had mostly moved on from this type of stupidity. But, this was our history and there was nothing I could do about it.

Most of the people I passed didn't spare me a glance. The few that did just assumed I was some country woman looking for work in the city. My clothing didn't fit in exactly, but I didn't stand out either since I saw a few women with longer dresses like mine, minus the corset and petticoats. I tried to smooth my hair out a little since it was pretty greasy by now and I couldn't remember if I had anything to tie it back into a ponytail. There was no way I'd be able to get it back up by myself.

The cars made a racket going down the street. Everyone was making use of their car horns and I guess mufflers hadn't been invented yet. Or they weren't very good ones. Some looked like the old Ford Model T's that I had seen in history books and some large round, bold newer cars with running boards and lots of chrome passed as well. Some of the fancier cars had honest to goodness chaffeurs driving them too, with the natty hats and all that. Not everyone had been poor during the Depression. The trolley cars made clickity clackity sounds as they rolled down the center of the street. Cars and the occasional horse and wagon had to dodge out of the way.

As I continued walking, I started seeing more lower class people on the street. These were people who didn't look like they had any place to go. They were just standing around or leaning against buildings, puffing on cigarettes. I saw fewer suits and more workman like clothes with heavy jackets and boots. Women were wearing simpler dresses and less jewelry.

There was more trash on the ground and the smells got stronger. People with worn faces peered out of darkened doorways. There was less English being spoken and more black people were walking around going into businesses that were obviously black owned. As, I walked and tried to think of my next move, I passed a church that had a soup kitchen sign on the building next to it. I had to get food somewhere and I was hungry. Also, I didn't have a specific plan and I had today to figure out where I was going to go. A city this size with this much poverty would have plenty of crime. I didn't want to be on the street after nightfall. Vampires aren't the only predators out at night.

Rounding the corner, I saw a bureau of motor vehicle's size line marking where the soup kitchen was. Putting my head down, I joined the end of the line while trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. It's kind of stupid if you think about it. After all, who am I hiding from? It's not like I know anyone here.

People stood in the line quietly with some soft murmurings here and there. There was a musty, sweaty smell emitting from the men standing ahead of me. Their clothes were dirty and had patches holding them together. I kept my shields up since I couldn't imagine that there would be anything positive to gain from reading their thoughts. I actually felt a little guilty being in line with all these desperate people, many of whom looked like they hadn't had a solid meal in days. But what else could I do?

"Excuse me, is this the line to get in?" a twangy sounding voice interrupted my thoughts. I turned and a woman about my age had gotten in line behind me. She was my height, with light brown hair cut into a short bob, a narrow chin and very large, brown eyes that were staring into mine. She was wearing a worn, cotton dress that fell just above her ankles, her stockings had runs in them. A small, battered suitcase sat next to her low heeled shoes. Hands that had seen hard work pulled her woolen sweater around her skinny shoulders.

It took me a second to think of an answer, since it had been so long since I had actually had a conversation with someone. "Ah, yes, I believe it is", I responded.

"Thank you, I was worried I would get here too late. They ran out yesterday", she said.

"Oh". There wasn't much I could say to that.

"Well, since we're standing here, I might as well introduce myself. My name is Alice, Alice Waters. What's yours?" she smiled. She was missing a few back teeth.

"Sookie…ah….", I stumbled as I hadn't had a chance to think up an alias. I didn't want to use my real last name since I was anticipating running into Eric and/or Bill. Bill would recognize the name Stackhouse. So, I pulled another name I knew, "Sookie ….Sookie Norris is my name", I said. Norris was a common name, that would work nicely.

"Well hi Sookie, it's nice to meet you", she said pleasantly. "Where are you from? You sound Southern".

"I am. I'm from Louisiana"

"Oh! Are you from New Orleans? I've always heard it's very beautiful and exciting!"

"No, I'm afraid not. I'm from a small town called Bon Temps in the northern part of Louisiana". Hey, it's not like I'll have to worry about seeing her again, so I'll stick close to the truth. I was so tired that if I started lying, I was bound to mess up.

"I'm from a small town too, just past the border into West Virginia", she smiled. "Are you here with your husband?"

"I'm not married", I said with a smile, like it was no big deal.

"What about your folks?"

"Um, no, I'm by myself".

"Well, I'll be! Me too! My Daddy is traveling south, following the harvesting. My Momma is at home taking care of my younger brothers and sisters. They sent me here to find work. There's no work where we are", she said, shaking her head sorrowfully.

"Well, my parents died years ago, so I'm kind of on my own", I said. God knows this is true.

We stood, waiting in line against the brick wall being warmed by the sunshine. It was comfortable, almost warm, but as I had seen by the date on the newspaper, it was mid-September, 1931. It would start getting chilly this far north I should think. My new friend Alice and I kept talking, or I should say she mostly talked and I gave minimal answers. I was surprised by her friendliness to a complete stranger, but I guess I looked safe enough to her eyes and she was lonely for a friend.

She had arrived over a month ago, and stayed in a rundown rooming house while looking for work. She hadn't had any luck and now had no money left for her room, so she was hoping the church's charity organization could help her find someplace for her to sleep. She didn't want to go home and tell her mother she couldn't find work. That part she didn't say out loud, but I caught it from her thoughts. Her mother was stretching the money her husband sent to feed the six children they had at home and Alice needed to find something to help them. She was willing to do any type of respectable work she said. I assured her that she would find something eventually, trying to be upbeat.

Once the line started moving, we decided to sit together and check on finding a place to sleep. I had heard enough from her head to know she was exactly as she appeared to be, an honest, hard working, god fearing young woman. I had nothing to fear from her and it was nice not being alone. Once I ran into the vampires, IF I could find them, I'd figure out what to do then. One step at a time, remember?

We shuffled down the line, getting our bowl of potato soup, a chunk of bread and a cup of coffee. The soup was watered down and the coffee was awful, but I drank it anyway. I hadn't slept since the big Viking meeting and I was losing track of time (har de har har) and probably a little punchy in the head. I needed to stay alert to watch for the vampires, so I drank the dark coffee with hardly a wince.

While we ate, I glanced around the rest of the hall we were eating in. It was amazing how many people there were and more were being ushered in as people finished eating and had to leave. I saw families with little kids, the mothers and older siblings making sure the younger ones ate everything. I heard no complaining nor saw any children give their parents a hard time about the food. They sat and quietly chewed and drank the cups of milk placed in front of them. I almost wished for the spoiled, comfortable, demanding children I saw at Merlottes; children who had no idea what it was to be hungry or worried where they were going to sleep the next day. These well behaved tired looking children were heartbreaking.

Eating also gave me a chance to selectively "listen" to different people, trying to find signs of vampires or any other supes. I had just realized that there were bound to be some Weres or shifters around and they might know who and where the vampires were. I finished spooning up my thin potato soup as I scoped out the neighboring brains for the telltale red gnarly signature of a Werewolf. Of course, now that I was looking for some, I wasn't hearing any.

"pssst!"

I was jarred out of my musings by Alice trying to get my attention. "What is it?" I asked.

"Listen to those men at the next table", she whispered as quietly as she could. Her eyes gazed into mine intently, trying to warn me to be discreet.

I glanced over to the group of men she jerked her head towards a little. Their heads were huddled together at their table next to ours. Sipping my coffee, I focused more than my ears. A few men were telling some of their friends about jobs they had heard about, jobs working for bootleggers. These bootleggers worked out of a small town in the northern part of the state, next to a racetrack and since racing season was upon them, they needed extra help. Supposedly a couple of them were going to show up at Hooverville tonight and do some hiring. They were said to be an "odd" lot, but treated their men well and paid good wages.

One of the men asked, "Whatcha mean odd?"

I was glad he asked because I was wondering the same thing and I could tell Alice was too.

The guy with the information said he'd heard they did most of their business at night and they were just kind of different. That was what he'd heard. This amused the other men, one of whom said, "Well, yeah, they're bootlegging so of course they do most of their business at night! When else are you going to move hooch!" The rest of the men laughed at this. The information guy's friend interjected, "They ain't a bunch of homos, are they Danny? I'm not working for no queers, no matter how much they pay".

At this one of the other men said, "I don't care if they are homos, I've got 3 kids and a wife to feed. What part of Hooverville are they going to tonight?" The info guy repeated what he'd heard as the other men listened closely. I had no doubt all of them would be there to check out the situation at least.

It sounded like it might be the vampires. Hadn't Eric said he'd been a bootlegger at the Halloween party? I had just assumed it had been in Louisiana. They were recognized as strange, but their profession kept any close scrutiny at bay. If people think you're a gangster or something, then they know better than to ask questions or get too close. I had to go see just in case. If they were going to be in the city at nightfall, that meant they were probably sleeping in the city right now. It might be Bill or Eric. I had to find out where this Hooverville was.

"What do you think?" I inquired towards Alice. She had been listening as intently as me, and I reminded myself to not let on anything I had heard with my gift.

"We should go see, there might be jobs for us. They'll need someone to cook, do laundry, and clean if they're hiring a crew", she said thoughtfully.

I couldn't help but ask her, "But I thought you said you'd only do respectable work. Do you think working for bootleggers is a good idea?" I didn't want to discourage her from finding a job, but I was also leery of continuing to have her with me if it turned out it was the vampires involved with this.

She sighed before answering, "I know what I said, but I've been looking for weeks and it's just impossible here in the city. Some of the bootleggers aren't so bad". She looked down at her hands, a little embarrassed. "One of my uncles was caught doing it. He's a decent man, he said he was just supplying a product. He doesn't even drink!" I had to admit I admired Alice. She was a determined person and a bit fearless in her own way. She reminded me of me, before I got involved with vampires.

"Alright, you have a point" I said, "but do you know where Hooverville is?"

She laughed, "You havn't been here very long have you? It's just a few blocks from here, in the direction of the docks. We'll go over there now, while it's still day time, find a good spot".

What she didn't say out loud, was that it would be better to get over there while it was still daylight and find a fairly safe area to wait. It had taken a few minutes for my tired brain to remember my history lessons regarding the Depression. Hooverville wasn't a place or a city. It was a nickname given to shantytowns, often in the middle of cities or on the outskirts. People who ended up in them had decided to name them after the current president as a way of expressing their opinion about how he was handling the economy.

Since we were done eating and the soup kitchen workers were looking like they were about to tell us to move along anyway, we left. I followed Alice as we walked back out into the sunlight and briskly made our way towards Hooverville. Alice was hopeful and walking purposefully with me struggling to keep up. I was running on adrenaline mostly and the meager meal had helped, but at some point I was going to need serious sleep. I was getting a little fuzzy and it became really noticeable when Alice suddenly yelled, "Sookie, STOP!" I froze, as a large silver car beeped and blew past me. I had almost stepped off the curb in front of it. That would be great; survive killer fairies, time travel, vampires, and Vikings only to be run down in the street by an automobile. Blinking hard, my legs shook a little as I scampered after my new friend. She looked at me with concern, but said nothing. I gripped my bag and blanket to me tightly as I concentrated more closely on following her.

We passed buildings of brown stone and a tremendous mix of humanity on our way there. The structures got closer and tighter together, huddled against the urban masses. There were windows open everywhere since the weather was so nice and we could hear radio programs with music and various news programs drifting down to us. Clotheslines were strung between buildings and women leaned outside to run their laundry back and forth. People scurried on and off the sidewalks into alleys, some doing legitimate business and some not. Alice and I kept a brisk pace and ignored the occasional idle group of men staring at us.

Believe it or not, there was a homemade sign marking Hooverville. It said "welcome to Hooverville: the land of opportunity". I guess someone had a bit of a sarcastic sense of humor, because what I saw around me did not reflect opportunity in the slightest. You could smell it before you saw it, with garbage being burned in piles everywhere and people sleeping in little shacks built out of whatever they could find. I saw entire families sitting around small fires in front them, trying to maintain some semblance of normalcy in the middle of all this. We passed people who, I swear to God, smelled worse than the Vikings had.

It was appalling that in such a rich country, that this level of destitution and desperation was going on. Again, I reminded myself that America eventually got through this and things got better. I couldn't do anything about America's history and I needed to focus on my own personal problems at the moment.

When we passed a portion of this park (it appeared that was its original purpose) that smelled like an open sewer, it was all I could do to not gag up my nasty lunch. Both of us covered our faces with our sleeves and hurried past. I wasn't sure what Alice was looking for as a "good spot", but I trusted her judgement in this situation over mine. We got to a section where the structures seemed to be a little more organized and the areas around them were being kept fairly clean. It appeared that the Salvation Army was on the spot and had their tent set up in the middle of this desperate squalor. Their people were tending to the sick and malnourished, wearing those quasi-military type outfits for which they were known. Alice looked at me and I looked at her. We had found our place to wait.

Sitting on a rickety bench all day with Alice, I began to drift off a little. My fatigue was catching up with me and I caught myself leaning against her a couple times. The Viking blanket came in handy since we were partially sitting on it and it was wrapped around the two of us, keeping the nippy air at bay. Once the sun started setting, as it did, the air got a real chill. I was missing that fur coat I had traded one of my spoons for, that was for sure. But it had gotten left behind on the last jump, for some reason. Maybe because I had wrapped it around Eric.

I was so tired and yet, trying to get any real rest was impossible in this type of crowd. Very dirty people were going to and fro, some of them staggering from drinking alcohol that I knew was currently illegal. I wondered how bad I looked since I hadn't seen myself in a mirror since the Compton's house. Maybe it was better that I couldn't see myself, I'd probably start crying. While I was dozing and trying to keep all the pressing brains that were beating against my own like bird's wings, Alice suddenly jabbed me in the ribs.

Jerking awake, I rubbed my eyes so I could focus on Alice.

"Sookie, something is going on, I've seen men walking in the same direction", she said. Her brown eyes gazed alertly around, there were men walking by in little clumps. Alice was a real trouper, she'd stayed awake and been watching what people were doing all day. She was doing much better than the telepath sitting next to her, who was ready to pass out and sleep for a week or so. I blinked and looked where her slender hand was pointing. Yes, the men were walking with a purpose, not just randomly wandering. And it was getting dark. The sun was disappearing behind the buildings surrounding us. Sea gulls from the nearby docks were tiny little black marks against the pink and orange sky.

Alice and I looked at each other in total agreement. We grabbed our stuff, I swung the blanket over my shoulder and we started following the men. As we tromped after them, it got a little nerve wracking since it wasn't like we were in a safe, organized type of neighborhood. Hooverville seemed to have a little self governing policy and I was nervous we would get caught up in something as darkness fell.

The backend of a brick warehouse that had seen better days seemed to be the goal. We walked up tried to be inconspicuous amongst the many men who were milling about. It was a relief to see some other women there, although a few of them seemed to be plying the world's oldest profession. When a couple drunken men, who mistook us for one of those women, made some rude comments; Alice grabbed my arm and we kind of pushed our way up towards the front of the crowd. There was a loading dock that was slightly elevated and it appeared whatever was going to happen, was going to be there. Honest to god torches were set up and provided much needed light. A couple trash cans had wood burning as well. Other than a little bit of electrical light "glow" from beyond these buildings, this was the only direct light.

While I was looking around the crowd, wondering where these "odd" bootleggers were, a sudden murmur rippled thru the crowd. Swiveling my head back towards the dock, I saw what everyone was responding to. A few men had suddenly appeared on the elevated platform. They were vampires.

Of course no one else knew that.

With a major sigh of relief, I noticed that Bill Compton was one of them. So I was right about Bill and/or Eric being nearby when I time jumped. I'd think on this later. Everyone was surging a little towards the front, wanting to make sure they had a shot at these jobs they had heard about. I had to crane my neck and stand on my toes to try and see over the surrounding men. Alice was doing the same thing.

Eric wasn't on the platform. I would have known in an instant. There was a very tall vampire on the platform and I got a jolt once I realized who it was. It was the vampire Malcolm, who I had had the displeasure of meeting once in Bill's living room. The last time I had seen him, he'd been a nasty pile of ash in a coffin. He and his nest had been burned to their final death in their home by some Bon Temps residents. I had never regretted his final death since he and his nestmates had been dangerous and never understood the new rules after the vampire's Great Revelation. He'd been some kind of friend to Bill, I think. I had never figured that out. Right now, his long elegant figure stayed behind Bill, leaning casually against the building. The suit he was wearing must have been some type of shiny material, since I could see that in the firelight. His fedora sat rakishly on his head as his dark eyes perused the crowd.

In this horrible light, it was hard to make out detail, but I could still see the faint glow that all vampires have. For some reason, regular people can't see it. Bill was dressed more somberly than Malcolm in some kind of muted, dark three piece suit, with his hat sitting squarely on his head. He almost looked like a banker, I swear. I couldn't tell who the other vampire was and now that I looked more closely, I realized that one of the men was a human. They were smart to have this meeting under these conditions. No way could anyone get a really good look at them. Bill appeared pale, but not abnormally so, but then, in this light, who knows?

The crowd got quiet and settled down when Bill raised his arms up, like a preacher to his flock. They became almost perfectly silent as he began to speak.

"Good evening", he said pleasantly. Is it ridiculous that I sighed hearing that cool, calm voice once again? I'm such an idiot, but it was comforting seeing Bill as a vampire again.

Yeah, I'm definitely an idiot.

**TBC **

_Good news: the writing is going so much better now, the bad news is my time to write is severely limited. A friend of mine is going to give me an old laptop so I'm hoping to be able to write during my lunch break at one of my jobs. We'll see how that turns out. _

_Next Chapter: Sookie gets in with the vampire bootleggers , all kinds of to doing and of course vampire Eric returns_.


	12. Chapter 12

_A/N Charlaine Harris owns this wonderful universe, I do not. *sigh* _

_I have no beta, so all mistakes are most definitely my own. _

_This is my longest chapter to date, over twelve thousand words! That's even longer than Fairy Blood Orgy, but setting up a new time period is ...time consuming (yuk yuk) and I had a definite point I wanted to break the chapter at..._

_I have a few days off this coming holiday, so i'm hoping to post a couple other things this coming week. I've been taking my laptop to work, and typing during my lunch break,which can be difficult with my co workers walking around me and continually asking me"what are you typing?" LOL! So the writing has been going better, it's just fighting for the time, damn jobs, damn bills...don't they know we have more important things to do like ogling certain hot vampires? LOL! _

_Anyway, I'm glad I was able to get this posted before Christmas, you all have a safe and wonderful holiday! _

"Good evening", Bill said again, "It's good to see you all here. My name is Bill Crumpton. My associates and I represent Mr. Eric Blue, a businessman operating in Harford county next to the Harford Agricultural and Breeders Association Racetrack". I rolled my eyes a little. And here I thought my alias were lame. Bill continued, "We're here this evening to hire some strong, hardworking individuals for racing season over the next few weeks. It will be very busy and we'll require extra help. We have various manufacturing facilities, a canning factory for example, that we need men to operate. We'll also be hiring men and women to provide various services to our diverse array of clients in our club and a couple hotels in the town. "

An amused ripple waved through the crowd. Everyone KNEW what Bill was talking about; manufacturing alcohol and selling it, which was very illegal. But Bill of course, being the discreet, intelligent guy he is, wasn't going to say those words.

"Wages?" someone called out from the crowd.

"Wages are comparable to other organizations. Also, we provide sleeping quarters and meals every day. (This got a reaction from the crowd) So, I'm sure some of you will be interested.

Some of the people were skeptical while others were becoming a little excited as they had listened to Bill's speech. Eric really was smart for sending him. He spoke plainly and sounded so trustworthy, damn him.

"Everyone line up and I'll talk to each of you regarding your various skills to see if they're usable to our organization", Bill continued, waving his hand towards the front of the platform. Everyone started pushing and shoving towards the platform even harder than before.

Malcolm stepped forward, with his arms crossed, looking all tough guy, "No pushing! Start acting like a group of barbarians and we'll go elsewhere for our workers!" A vampire telling homeless, hungry humans not to act like barbarians. That was rich. Everyone settled down though and started lining up in a haphazard manner with only minor shoving.

Alice impressed me by pushing those skinny shoulders of hers through the crowd of men and managing to drag me with her to boot. The shadowed, tightly packed clusters of dirty raggedy humans calmed down a bit as everyone found their place in line. Bill walked slowly down the side steps of the platform and came around to the front to start the interviews. Malcolm stayed on the platform right above his head, his dark eyes peering around the crowd, on the lookout for trouble. The third vampire was staying back towards the building behind Malcolm, tucked into its shadow, also watching.

The human jumped down off the platform next to Bill and I got a shock when I realized I recognized him too. I knew him as a young vampire named Gerald, who worked for Eric in Area 5. His slender form stood next to Bill, holding a clipboard and making notes as Bill spoke to the first man in line. I guess this explained how he'd become a vampire. Hanging around the undead has predictable consequences. There was a lesson in there for me somewhere. I'd definitely be thinking about this later.

The line got quiet as everyone was paying attention to what kinds of questions Bill was asking. Needless to say they were going to "mold" their responses accordingly. A number of them were prepared to lie about anything they had to in order to get a job. Bill of course would see through any lies, but they didn't know that. After all, a really good liar can spot a lie a mile off. As Alice and I edged closer towards the front, I had noticed that a couple of the men who had come away smiling from their exchange with Bill, had small cards in their hands. It seemed Bill was handing the lucky ones a business card of some type.

It suddenly occurred to me that there was no guarantee Bill was going to hire me. My Bill was eager to maim, murder and die for me. Maybe this Bill wouldn 't consider me worthy to scrub floors! But if he didn't , what else was I going to do? I had no other options. I could starve to death before I time jumped out of here. For that matter, I could catch a disease and die. Looking around me at the worn, tired faces, some of them were coughing those nasty deep coughs you get from various infections. I had been so worried about getting killed by swords, starving, and vampires, that I hadn't even thought about the fact that people in the past carried all kinds of disease that weren't around in the modern USA. Heck, had penicillin even been invented yet? I could catch something. Hell, maybe I already had

Fighting a rising panic in my chest, I started doing what everyone else was doing, paying attention to Bill's questions.

Each man as he got to the front of the line, would take his hat off and introduce himself. Some of them would jump into their background experience if they thought it would help. Most of Bill's questions seemed to center around work experience, but some of the questions seemed a little odd. He'd ask about their family situation, where they had lived or their health. He might also ask about their education, which concerned various men around me. I could feel their frustration and fear about receiving some of these questions. They would look a little startled, but promptly answer since they wanted a job.

The next man in line stepped up with his cap pulled down low and collar up. I saw Bill become still the way only a vampire can when they're seeing a possible threat. Macolm above him was doing the same."Remove your hat if you please", Bill said firmly, it wasn't a request. There was a murmur when the man removed his cap, because he was black. He was fairly light skinned which is why it hadn't been noticed, but once his head was visible the negro features were apparent. A rumble started amongst the crowd, a man towards the back yelled out, "No niggers!" . Alice quickly glanced back at me, her eyes getting wide as she picked up on the scary mood that was starting amongst all these desperate men. The torches added to the medieval atmosphere and potential for violence.

Thank God for Bill, he didn't lose his usual calm demeanor. He put his hand up and raised his voice, " Actually, we have need of a few negros. There are a few colored establishments in town and we have certain...business ..arrangments with them' (translation: we sell them booze at highly inflated prices). Everyone settled down and the grumbling got quieter as the gathered men absorbed this information. Alice and I took deep breaths, greatly relieved, but no one was more relieved than the poor man standing in front of Bill. He must have known he was taking his life into his hands by coming here in the middle of all these desperate white men. He held his gray cap tightly and kept his eyes down as he softly answered Bill's questions. I was relieved and a bit surprised as I saw that Bill spoke to him just like he spoke to everyone else, civilly and businesslike.

Becoming a vampire may have stripped away 95% of Bill's morals, but at least he could still show these people what decent manners looked like.

I was happy to see this modern day brave man receive a little blue card. Gerald motioned him off to the side where the other men who had received their lucky Golden Tickets…excuse me….business cards, were standing together. The black guy went over near them, but kept a slight distance that seemed to be required by this crowd. I pressed my lips together tightly, reminding myself for the tenth time that I couldn't do anything about all this racist baloney and to focus on my current problem which was convincing Bill to hire me.

Then it was Alicia's turn. I felt so bad for her. She was even more nervous than I was. She so desperately wanted a job and she seemed to be a little intimidated by Bill for some reason. For a second I almost thought she was going to curtsey. Bill gave her a glance, not seeming impressed by what he saw.

"What is your name young woman?" he asked coolly.

"Alice Waters..sir", she kept her head down, looking up at Bill through her dark lashes.

"And what skills do you possess that we might be able to use?"

"Uh, well sir, I'm an excellent housekeeper, I can cook, do laundry…I'm a very hard worker sir. You won't be sorry, if you hire me. I'll do my very best".

"Can you read and write?" he asked, his dark eyes studied her closely.

There was a small reaction from Alice on this. She hadn't been expecting this question and it appeared her education had been limited from what I was picking up. "I can read a fair amount sir and write …a little".

Bill pulled a small book out of his jacket pocket. It was a small Bible, well that was a nice touch. He opened it to some spot in the New Testament and held it out to Alice. "I'd like you to read this, please".

Poor Alice, she nodded and licked her lips as she accepted the small book and squinted in this horrible light. She started slowly, "For God.. so loved the… world that he gave his only…. be…gotten son, that whoso..ever.. belie..veth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life". As she recognized the passage her voice got stronger and I knew darn well she was quoting from memory, not reading. I think Bill knew that too, but he just put his hand out and Alice meekly handed the little Bible back to him. Then her face broke out in a wide smile as Bill pulled out a little blue business card out and handed it to her.

"With all the men we're hiring, we'll have need for more household help", he said. He gestured toward the group of blue carded guys, and she hustled over clutching her little card, after giving me an encouraging nod.

Now it was my turn, I took a breath as I stepped up. I suddenly became self conscious of how awful I probably looked and made one last valiant attempt to smooth my greasy, nasty hair. I stepped in front of the man….vampire….who had meant everything to me and hurt me worse than I thought was possible and live.

Those familiar, fathomless dark eyes widened slightly as he took in me and my Civil War Reenactor's dress. What the hell would he make of my outfit? I hadn't even thought about that. His nostrils flared a little, so I knew he was smelling me. This made me really self conscious since I hadn't had a real bath in a while.

"Your name please?" he asked.

"Sookie…Sookie ..Norris", I said, remembering my alias at the last minute.

"What skills do you have, Sookie Norris?" His tongue rolled and drawled out my name in that sweet way that had so captivated me when we were together. I didn't want to be reminded of that right now. It had been such a turn on back then, and I needed to focus on getting hired.

"Well, I like keeping a clean home, do laundry well, I'm fairly organized and efficient. I'm not afraid of hard work and I can cook pretty good (hey, with this crowd I'm Paula Deen)", I said in one long, unbroken sentence. I couldn't mention my Merlotte's experience since being a barmaid might give Bill the wrong impression of the kind of work I desired. And I couldn't mention other jobs I'd held since they were "modern day" type ones.

"Education?" he asked , his eyes remained on me steadily.

"High school", I answered. He looked surprised by this.

"What grade?"

"High school diploma", I said. He smiled a little at that, seemingly amused by something.

"I'd like you to read something for me, please", he said as he handed me the small Bible, opened it and pointed towards a passage. My throat choked up a little as I recognized it as one of Gran's favorites, "Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof", I sucked in a deep breath, wondering at the appropriateness of this verse to my situation. It was almost like Gran was advising me from her grave.

When I finished, he stretched his hand out and I handed it back to him. " So what part of Louisiana do you hail from Sookie Norris?" he asked gently.

Crap! I hadn't planned on talking to Bill or any of the vampires about where I was from since I wasn't sure when Eric's ties to Lousiana had begun and Bill was also from there. I had forgotten that Bill would easily be able to recognize my accent. Trying to do a fake accent wouldn't work since hey, I'm not Meryl Streep. I tried to stall, "Oh, it's nowhere really …a tiny town you've probably never heard of…".

Bill actually smiled even bigger and said, "Try me".

Double crap.

Then I had it, "I'm from a teeny, tiny town in Northern Louisiana called Hotshot. My parents died and I had to leave and make my own way". I felt my cheeks stretching as my "nervous" smile started pulling across my face.

Bill's eyebrows creased together as he absorbed what I'd just said and my "crazy Sookie" grin. A small "humph" escaped those curved lips and he drew out a little blue card and held it out to me. "I'm sure we'll be able to find a use for you", he said thoughtfully.

This scared me a little, but this was what I'd come here for, so I said, "Thank you, sir" and I trudged over to stand next to a very pleased looking Alice. She grabbed one of my hands and squeezed it happily. "Isn't this great?" she said, "We'll be able to work together!". She was really excited. In contrast, I was just relieved at having gotten hired, but was now becoming nervous about the circumstances. In the shifting light, I peered down at my little card. It was a vibrant shade of turquoise blue on one side with no other decoration, and white on the other side with the words "Mr. Eric Blue" printed in bold type. Bold and mysterious, yeah, that worked for Eric I guess.

Now that I didn't have to worry about being chosen, I paid more attention to what Bill was doing. Again some of the questions seemed to vary for each person, and his rejection of certain men was puzzling. I also noticed Malcolm, unobtrusively touch his toe to Bill's back every now and then. It took a few minutes for me to figure it out. He touched Bill's back when Bill had a young man in front of him who was relatively attractive, the ravages of time and terrible hardship having not had a chance to take its toll on him.

That's when I figured it out.

No True Blood.

Decent wages, supposedly.

Three meals a day and a free place to sleep.

We weren't just being hired to work.

The vampires were hiring food.

I unobtrusively glanced around at the humans standing next to me. Granted we were raggedy and smelly , but everyone appeared to be in good health. There was no coughing and hacking in this bunch. If you're going to feed on a human regularly, you want them to be free of disease and strong. I'd heard more than one vampire say this since I'd started hanging around the undead. Bill had said it once too, but he'd managed to make it sound like a compliment.

Bill was using this standard when selecting each human. There had been a noticeable jolt of surprise and excitement when Bill had mentioned the room and free meals. Unless you work for a restaurant or ran a motel, I wasn't aware of any business where that was done. So, in this time, I'm sure no one was doing it. Companies were struggling, and employees were plentiful and cheap. Why give them a roof over their head and food if you didn't have to?

Our little group of Meals To Go grew and I wondered how the vampires had this organized. Vampires have a lot of structure in their world, as Sam had pointed out to me once. There was a pecking order, and the oldest usually ruled the roost. With this group, that meant Eric. I didn't know if this was all of them or if there were more hungry vampires waiting for us back wherever this town was. Don't panic, don't panic, DON'T panic. I reminded myself that I had an advantage over all these other humans in that I understood what I was getting myself into and they didn't.

A few more women joined our group. Each had identified herself as an "entertainer" which seemed to be a euphemism for something less respectable. Alice and I were the only women who weren't as "colorful". None of them was especially pretty, and each one was very different physically. It was almost like Bill was choosing a diverse group on purpose: blond, brunette, redhead, skinny, or full figured etc. I tried not to think about what they were being hired for. I really didn't want to know.

Shifting my attention back towards the "interviews", it was noticeable that Bill was wrapping up. "Thank you everyone for coming, but we have our quota", he announced. There was a rising uproar amongst the remaining people there and the unchosen ones; some of whom were giving we of the Blue Business Card Club dirty looks. Several people were pushing again and a few yelled out about how many kids they had and were demanding to at least be given a chance. "Good luck to you, but we must be going", he said. He glanced at Malcolm and Gerald, who both nodded with understanding of the situation.

Malcolm jumped down from the platform with unusual speed for a human, which startled everyone there. He had moved just fast enough to scare them, but not enough to appear supernatural. "All of you follow me", he ordered, as he stared down at us like a snooty tall bird. Everyone in our group was glad to get out of there since the mood wasn't improving and it seemed like some of the poor souls there might try to take some of us "out of the running" so to speak. Alice and I kept close together and our little group clumped like sheep, following these predators helplessly. Swiveling my head, I was relieved to see Bill taking up a side spot and the as yet still unseen vampire bringing up the rear. We headed straight into a dark alley which was just fantastic, let me tell you. I was having enough trouble clamping down my own nerves, which were shot so now I had to try and keep everyone else's fears out of my head too. I desperately needed a bed. Fortunately, my new best friend Alice kept a hold of my arm as I stumbled into the dark alley which stank of urine, garbage and God knows what else. Our footsteps made these huge echoing CLOMP! CLOMP! CLOMP! like giants were coming to escort us to our impending doom.

As we emerged into a side street that was lit with some murky electric lights, thank goodness, we heard running footsteps and a young, high pitched voice, "Excuse me sir, please SIR! " . We all slowed down, as a very skinny young black boy ran up alongside Bill, "I'll work for you sir! Can I have a job? I work real hard!". He blurted all this out as he skidded to a stop next to Bill. Everyone in our little group seemed to find this amusing.

Malcolm just looked annoyed, "Go away boy, we have no need for you", as he made a shooing gesture towards the child. And child he was, he couldn't have been more than maybe eight or ten years old. He was wearing the short trousers that many of the boys here seemed to be wearing, with a long sleeved shirt and a jacket that was too big for him. None of his clothes were in good repair and neither were his shoes. They had holes and seemed to be the wrong size, judging by the way they CLOP CLOP CLOPPED as he ran down the crooked sidewalk.

He whipped his cap off his head, his slender face hadn't caught up with his slightly oversized satellite dish ears. His big brown eyes angled upwards towards Bill as he made another plea, "Please sir? You don't even have to pay me. I'll work for tips!"

Bill silently gazed down at him for a moment, then asked, "What's your name, boy?".

"Samuel Beaufort Jackson, everyone just calls me Sammy. I need to help my Mama take care of the lil ones at home", he spoke hurriedly and added, "I'll work real REAL hard sir!"

There was a titter among a few of the white members of our little group as one of the men commented, "A negro work hard? That would be a first". Some snickers erupted.

They completely died down when Bill said, "We'll need an errand boy. Someone reliable to run messages to various business associates. Here…." And he handed the boy one of the brilliant blue cards. Bill glanced at Malcolm, who merely shrugged and rolled his eyes in a bored fashion. The boy's long face lit up like a Christmas tree. He fell in with our group, sticking close to the two black men that Bill had ended up hiring. They greeted the boy with silent nods.

We continued down the dark streets with our little addition. It was puzzling that they needed a message boy when the vampires should have telephones. That was weird. Ignoring the fact that the vampires were hiring a child and not even paying him, not to mention my concern that he was going to be some vampire's snack…I refocused on where we were going. The area we were getting into seemed more industrial in nature, with chemical smoky smells lingering like a fog on street level.

Bill stopped, turned and faced us, "Are any of you familiar with the train routes?" A few of the men nodded. "You all will need to continue from here on your own. Go to the train yard and catch the Milky Way train. We have an ….agreement…with one of the yard agents there. His name is Leroy and he will allow you onto the Milky Way rail cars if you have Mr Blue's business card. So don't lose it! We have other business to conclude here in the city and will see you later on. Good luck". With that, the vampires and Gerald all turned and walked into the night, at human speed of course.

Alice piped up, "What did he mean? What's the Milky Way?"

One of the men, who was one of those who'd nodded when Bill asked about the train yards said, "I know what he was talking about, just follow me". He strode off, as the rest of us followed since we didn't know what else to do. He was confident and knew where he was going. So we tromped along on dark unfamiliar streets. Tall brick factories with huge dirty windows loomed on either side of us like the walls of a maze. Light fought its way out of the filth that covered the windows along with throbbing hum of machinery.

Since my nerves were being stretched to their limit, I decided to inquire myself, "What's the Milky Way train?"

The man who was leading us kept walking as he answered, "The Milky Way is the nightly milk run into Harford county. The train goes north with empty milk containers and comes back with full ones from the nightly milkings, so all these city folks can have fresh milk with their breakfast. There's loads of dairies out there in the country". Okay, that made more sense, Milky Way …cute. We kept up our brisk pace since we weren't sure what time the train left exactly and neither was our guide. I hoped I wouldn't have to try and run in these skirts to catch it, like some hobo.

The noises got louder and the smells stronger as we walked closer to the train yards. Machinery and the high pitched whistle of the trains got so loud that our footsteps were no longer audible. We clustered together as we snuck between trains, hopping over tracks like thieves in the night. Shadows veered wildly from the individual train's headlights and the lamps that the conductors/train personnel were carrying. I mainly focused on not getting separated from everyone else and not tripping over all the strange equipment and track on the ground. I wasn't sure what the penalty was for being here, but I'm sure there was one. No wonder the vampires had just dumped us off. If we made it , great. But if we didn't, oh well, they could just hire some more poor desperate souls.

Then we found it. We hid behind a corner, watching men loading those large metal urns that they still use today for shipping milk to market. From the way they were tossing them, the containers were empty. But we didn't know who Leroy was and there was hurried conversation about how we were to spot him and engage him without anyone else seeing. The assumption here being that Leroy was doing something he wasn't supposed to and if we approached him in front of his co workers, he'd just pretend to know nothing about it .

This problem was solved when one of the men we were watching yelled out "Hey Leroy!" towards a short, squat man with his cap jauntily sitting askew on his head. A few of the men in our group nodded to each other. Once Leroy appeared to be alone, our leader peeked around the corner going" psst! Leroy!" . Leroy turned around, a cigar chomped down between his jowly lips and he nodded when he saw us. He put his finger across his lips and shook his head to indicate we couldn't go near the railcar yet.

"Get ready", our leader said. I felt Alice tense beside me as we readied ourselves to make a dash for the railcar with the milk containers. The entire world seemed to stand still in the middle of this train yard of swirling smoky light twisting in the darkness. I was so tired and worried that I wouldn't be able to keep up with the others. "Now!" our unofficial leader declared. We all made a run for it as Leroy frantically pointed towards the open railcar while trying to watch for his coworkers.

"Cards!" he insisted as we all raced up. Each one of us flashed our blue cards in his face as we clamoured aboard the car. Alice and I were hauled up by a couple men in our group because we weren't moving fast enough. Once we were in the dark railcar, Leroy gestured for us to hide behind the tall metal milk containers. "Conductor coming!" he warned. You never saw a group of people disappear so fast. Alice and I hunched down, squished together trying very hard not to move. A beam of light approached and swung throughout the car above our heads.

"Watch out for railcar jumpers, Leroy. We've been hearing rumors", the conductors deep voice instructed.

"I'll keep an eye out, sir. No hobos will jump my cars without my knowing about it. You can bet your bottom dollar on that!" Leroy pronounced. Well, he was being honest. We had jumped the railcar and he DID know about it. The conductor's light moved past us, leaving us in filtered darkness. The door was slid shut with a clang and the car rattled as we began to slowly move. This brought a subdued cheer within our midst.

The rough wood beneath me quivered and shook as the train picked up speed. One of the men got up and peeked out the door slit. After a few minutes, he said, "We've cleared the rail yard!" Everyone let loose a more confident cheer this time. The door was opened a little bit so the city lights appeared to be passing us at an increasing pace. Everyone took a deep breath and started to relax. With the door partially open, I could see the various groups. Clumped by gender and race, we of the blue card brigade began to allow ourselves a little hope.

Alice and I did what everyone else was doing, turning the milk containers on their sides so we'd have something to sit on. It wanted to roll away, but we ground our shoes into the floor. I wrapped the blanket around Alice and I, since the breeze running through this car was becoming quite chilled from our speed. The "entertainer" women sat near us, leerily watching the men who had clumped at the other end of the car while they chatted and smoked. One of the women lit up and offered us one. Alice and I both declined. I broke the silence first.

"I wonder how long it takes to get to this town?" I asked.

"Not long", a male voice answered from the darkness, "It's only about thirty miles. It depends on how many stops the train makes. We should arrive within a couple hours".

"I wonder if we'll get some grub tonight", said another man, " I could use a good meal".

"Like the rest of us don't?" said another voice, sounding irritated.

"I'll believe it when I see it", said a more pessimistic voice," An outfit like this paying fair wages, a bed and three squares a day? Yeah right, when pigs fly". The vampires would want us well fed so they could feed on us regularly, so Mr Pessimist had better get used to seeing Porky with wings.

Another more optimistic voice spoke," That guy…Mr Crumpton seemed like a straight arrow…I've heard things about this outfit, not bad to work for and all that…" Bill really was convincing as a regular honest guy. This made me feel a little better about some things.

Alice spoke up, "He was quite handsome, don't you think Sookie?"

"Who?" I asked, being so tired, I was becoming a bit slow.

"That Mr. Crumpton, didn't you think he was handsome?"

"I guess so". I may have sounded a teensy bit sullen.

"I wonder if he's married?" she mused. Oh boy, this explained why Alice had gotten so shy with Bill.

"It's doesn't matter honey. All men are alike" said one of the other women as she took a drag off her cigarette. Well, she was in for an epiphany, especially if the vampires were having sex with these women.

The boy's voice pierced the darkness,"How do we know where to go when we get there?" We all sat there quietly contemplating that, since we didn't really know. What were we supposed to do?

"We'll figure something out when we get there", the optimistic voice said.

"We may have to jump off the train when we get close. Once we get to the stop, someone would see us….I don't want my skull getting thumped by a flatfoot", Mr. Pessimistic said. Geez, I hoped he was wrong about that. Trying to make a jumping leap off this train, much less in this dress would be a suicidal move in my current fatigued state.

The train was really picking up speed and the wind whipping in between the wall slats was getting colder. Everyone sat quietly, trying to stay warm. As we went along, I saw fewer and fewer lights and more solid darkness, indicating fields or wilderness. I got a little excited when the train started slowing down, thinking it was our stop, but nope. The man who seemed in the know cried out, " Everybody down!" We all ducked back behind the milk containers while there was banging, men yelling, and the cars shuddered with all kinds of to doing. Then the railcar would shudder again as the train started back up. This happened a couple more times.

I started feeling like I was trapped in some timewarp in this dark railcar and I had always been there , cold, hungry, and unsure of my place in the universe. I was thirsty too, but that was just as well since bathroom facilities would have been unpleasant at best. The only lights were the struck matches for cigarettes that several people were smoking. The tips of their cigarettes flickered on and off like tiny fireflies in the darkness.

Then, finally, the train was slowing again and there were stray lights here and there. The train's whistle blew, a lonely cold sound that cut right into you. The chugging sound of the train rattling over the tracks went slower, then slower , then stopped completely. A squealing, screeching sound surrounded us as the train found it's rest. Everyone stood up looking at each other in the light coming through the slats. We needed to figure out what to do before a conductor or some official came around.

"What now?" Sammy asked.

One of the men started to say something, when the railcar door suddenly slid open. We all started diving for cover, then a man's voice came from the doorway, "It's alright. It's me", said Bill's low voice. I was so relieved and I wasn't the only one. "Follow me", he said. We piled off the railcar, into a much smaller version of the rail yard in Baltimore. There were men bustling about in the chilly darkness, appearing and disappearing in the foggy steam billowing off of the train.

Bill strolled plain as day between all these workers, with us trailing after him like baby geese. A conductor or someone official and extremely well fed came over, his navy blue cap pulled down over his eyes. He nodded at Bill, "Mr. Crumpton, good evening".

"Evening sir", Bill responded, then he reached out , looking like he was going to shake hands. Instead, he handed the conductor guy a few bills, who tipped his hat toward Bill and waddled on his way like we weren't even there. We trudged along, following Bill quietly. He didn't seem to have any of his vampire buddies with him. The sounds of the rail yard faded behind us as we came to dark streets with businesses and homes intermingling behind rustling autumn trees. My fatigue was weighing on me like an anchor, making it impossible for me to really notice my surroundings much.

Twenty minutes later, give or take a century, (hey I said I was tired) , we got to a short block of what appeared to be tall brick townhomes, or maybe it was one long home that had been divided. It was hard to tell in the dark. There were expanses of lawn running alongside with large ladylike Victorians primly settled next door. The lights from these buildings shone out like a beacon. Bill headed around the back of the brick building. We walked into a basement walkout door and straight into a kitchen that reminded me of the one at the big Baptist church, The Word of Jesus in Monroe(it was near my fairy cousin Claude's strip club, go figure). We of the Blue Card Brigade stood and stared at our own personal Promised Land.

There were two very long tables with electric lights overhead and it was WARM, which was excellent. There were those old style white porcelain sinks with drain boards and backs. Large painted wood cupboards ran against the opposite wall. Two tiny iceboxes stood in a back corner, like unwanted guests at a party. But the belle of the ball was a massive green and white enameled stove standing out from its wall, with multiple ovens, burners. My Gran would have oooh'd and aww'd over this kitchen since it would have reminded her of her mother's kitchen I think. I had seen things like this in old photos my Gran had shown me from her childhood.

There was a delicious smell coming from the stove.

I wasn't the only one who noticed that something on the big stove smelled good. Over twenty pairs of eyes gazed plaintively at a huge, stockpot sitting on the stove with steam rising out from the lid. From around the corner stepped a short, stout woman. She had her graying brown hair piled in a messy bun on the back of her head. A stained, checked full apron wrapped around rather round body parts. Her face was jowly with little gray eyes peering at us almost suspiciously, like she expected us to grab the family silver and run.

"These are the new ones?" she asked.

"Yes, these are our new employees", Bill answered. He still looked pale, but not vampire pale which means he'd fed before coming here. And he must have fed substantially since I wasn't used to seeing him with such a normal color. Looking at us, Bill said, "This is Mrs. Shannon O'Miley, she takes care of household matters and runs the kitchen. She is a trusted employee of Mr. Blue and as such is to be treated accordingly". His dark eyes rested on each of us steadily, "In this kitchen, her word is law. Am I making myself perfectly clear?" Everyone nodded silently. Mrs. O'Miley stood with her thick arms crossed against her generous chest. She didn't look like the kind of person who needed back up, but then, maybe Bill was just trying to be proactive.

"Well, don't just stand there like a flock of lost sheep. Sit down", she said gruffly. Everyone immediately found places at the long table, with our previous self segregation of gender and race staying intact. Alice squeezed next to me, looking a little nervous which was odd to me. I was just glad to be sitting at a table in a warm kitchen. Compared to some of the things I'd been through recently, this was almost normal. Mrs. O'Miley waddled over to the cupboards and took out a stack of bowls and cups. She set them on the end of the table, then went to the stove for the big pot. When she set it on the heavy wood surface, the rest of us couldn't help smiling a little. Food! Hooray!

Bill murmured into Mrs. O'Miley's ear then said," I'll be back in a moment with more information for each of you regarding your various responsibilities".

No one really paid attention because we were all focused on the big pot that Mrs. O'Miley had dropped onto the table with a resounding "thud!" She started ladling the soup into bowls and passing them down with spoons. A platter of bread was pulled out of the oven and was passed around the table as well. I was so hungry and the soup smelled so good, I wanted to just bury my face into the bowl. Even Mr. Pessimist started looking excited.

It was more like a stew, with chunks of beef, potatoes and carrots floating in a dark, thick broth. Comparing this to the soup we'd had at the church kitchen would be like comparing Walmart clothes to Dillards. It was simple with strong beef flavor and not a lot of fancy seasoning. Everyone stayed quiet as we concentrated on eating. While we were eating, I smelled something else familiar. Coffee…honest to God coffee was poured into my cup. This wasn't the watered down swill we'd had earlier at the soup kitchen. It was full strength with that wonderful smell that filled my nose. It's amazing how the simple things matter so much.

Mrs. O'Miley wasn't exactly the chatty type, she shuffled around the kitchen banging this and that as she went. Bill came back in, observed us all chowing down for a moment then asked, "Are you all feeling a little better?" This got a laugh in response. "Mr. Blue will be joining us shortly", he said, "he had some business to attend to. First order of business is this, Mr. Blue is a fair employer, but he expects a hard day's work and he demands loyalty. He conducts his business in a discreet manner and he expects his employees to behave accordingly. This town is small enough that any behavior or questionable conduct by our employees will get back to us and there will be repercussions. For disloyalty the repercussions may be …severe". His voice dropped into the low cold tone he normally used when he was about to chew someone's ass out and everyone's eyes got bigger and as still as scared mice. There were furtive glances all around. If there had been any question that we were working for gangsters…well…there wasn't any now.

His manner changed to a more relaxed one, " I'm sure none of you will be any trouble and our association will be a positive one". (Bill should do motivational speaking, damn) "I'm sure all of you are eager to know our expectations. As some of you may have heard, much of our work is done at night. Those of you hired for our factory and shipping work will be split into two shifts. Some of you will work from late afternoon to late night and the other half from late night into late morning. We have reasons for not having a standard midday shift which will become clear to you shortly. Regarding your pay (everyone gripped their coffee cups and perked up) , to create ease with our bookkeeping we pay $25 a week in cash across the board for all positions. This is in addition to sleeping quarters and three meals a day. You will work Monday through Saturday with most of you having Sunday off".

One of the men tentatively raised his hand to ask a question. Bill nodded for him to speak.

"Ah, how much will our pay be docked for room and board Mr. Crumpton?"

"Nothing"

"Nothing?"

"Nothing" he said flatly.

"Nothing?"

"Yes, that's what I said", Bill said coldly, irritated at having to repeat himself.

The astonishment in the room was palpable. Everyone there had been expecting their pay to be substantially docked for their beds and food by their employer. It was commonplace for employers to get employees in an isolated position with big promises, then charge them for basic necessities of living. That's what I was hearing from some of the men in the room. There was a lot of mental calculating going on while several people tried to figure out how little they could live on and send most of the money to their families. That's what Alice was doing next to me. She couldn't wait to send money to her mother. To me $25 was a really REALLY bad night at Merlottes, but if I ended up stuck here for a while then the money would come in handy, so it wasn't like I was going to refuse it. And working SIX days a week! That sucked.

After letting this sink in, Bill commented, "Some of you may have the opportunity to generate additional income". He glanced towards the women who were seated near me and Alice. I was appalled by the insinuation, but they didn't seem disturbed by it. They were thrilled. The general mood in the room had lifted and everyone was in very good spirits.

"Racing season will be starting next week, "Bill added briskly "so there is no time to lose. You will all be introduced to your immediate work group and start working tonight, so you may learn your duties". Suddenly, a phone started ringing with that loud RIIIINGG RIIINNGG that old phones used to have before everything went digital and everyone started downloading personal ringtones. Mrs. O'Miley shuffled off into the corner where the iceboxes were and we heard her gruff voice say "hello?" .

She came back in and looked at Bill, "He's coming" she said. Bill nodded.

I hunched into my seat a little, suddenly nervous about seeing Eric. Bill hadn't seemed to recognize me so far from my time traveling, but vampires had always told me that their human memories faded quickly. Bill had often had trouble remembering details about his own family, so I wasn't surprised he didn't remember a woman he'd known for a day and a half before being Turned. Eric shouldn't remember me either since we'd met a thousand years ago and for a couple hours during Bill's human life. But, once again I was faced with the possibility that he might pick up on my having had his blood. Bill hadn't seemed to be overly affected by me, but I hadn't had Bill's blood in my time for quite a while and our link was muted. Neither of these vampires had had my blood at this point in their undead lives, so I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best. I was getting an inkling that this was a good sized operation and Eric must have his hands full. Why would he notice some girl hired to cook and clean, wearing an old fashioned dress?

We heard a door slam and footsteps coming down the hallway.

The funny thing is, I reacted almost like everyone sitting around me. They were all scared and a little shocked by his appearance. Eric was allowing himself to appear unnatural. He was wearing a deep blue or navy three piece suit (and looking rather fine I might add), his hair was pulled back tightly, braided and tucked into his collar. He was his normal (as in vampire normal) white color and wearing very lightly tinted, wire rimmed glasses which made it difficult to make out that his eyes were blue. He had a rather exotic severe look, like a bad guy in a foreign movie.

A silence settled on the room, as we of the Blue Card Brigade observed our new boss. The pervading thought in the room was that Eric was an albino, which had been his "cover story" when I'd run into him and Pam in 19th century Bon Temps.

"Mr. Eric Blue", Bill announced, as he gestured towards his boss like a game show model.

Eric smiled genially and greeted us, "Good evening everyone, I'm sure you're all eager to begin working. In a moment, we'll be breaking you up so you can join your various work groups and learn your responsibilities. I hope Mr. Crumpton explained to you that I am a generous employer, but I expect hard work and I do not tolerate disloyalty of any kind. Cross me and you will suffer the consequences. There will be no excuses accepted". (Oh yeah, just ask Long Shadow)

Everyone sat up straight and nodded along obediently. I sincerely hoped no one here would be stupid enough to cross Eric.

"Their names?", he asked, looking back at Bill. Bill walked over and started pointing each one of us out, giving our names and background. I slumped down in my seat some more as Bill got to me. Eric raised his eyebrow when Bill told him I was going to be one of the housekeepers . "Are you sure about that? He asked, eyeing me speculatively.

"I'm sorry?" I responded, genuinely confused by what he was driving at.

"We have other jobs that you might be well suited for , are you sure you wouldn't like one of those positions instead? Eric explained.

Oh, he wanted to know if I wanted one of the more "entertainer" type positions. Apparently, even the dirt, greasy hair, and odd dress couldn't hide the fact that I wasn't exactly ugly. I wanted to say "hell no", but I was trying to avoid catching his attention. "Um, no thank you, I'll be perfectly happy with this type of job", I answered.

"Very well, if you change your mind ….." He glanced at Bill and Mrs. O'Miley, " Let's get this moving along". They nodded and motioned for us to stand up.

We were broken up, the men following Eric out the door while we women stayed behind with Bill and Mrs. O'Miley. "This way please", he said, gesturing down the hallway and up the stairs. We ended up in a room that was more like a giant closet. "You must dress appropriately, in a manner that reflects our organization. Please choose a couple outfits, so you have something decent to wear until you get your first pay. Then Mrs. O'Miley will show you to a room where you may wash up . We expect a certain level of cleanliness , especially from our female employees".

Did this mean I might get to shower? AWESOME!

There's nothing like offering free clothes to a group of women to create a little happiness and the subsequent squealing that accompanies it. It was obvious while digging through the clothes closet that many of these were used, but no one cared. Everything seemed clean and in good repair. And they were definitely in better condition than the clothes most of us already had on our backs. I was just happy to get this corset, layers and 20lbs of skirt off. I couldn't wait! There was underwear and shoes too, which was odd because the underwear reminded me of "granny" underwear and the bras weren't what I was used to. I slipped my feet into some solid looking black shoes, making sure they were comfortable. As I walked on them experimentally, I noticed Bill leaning against the doorway, watching me closely. Ignoring his apparent interest, I went over to help Alice choose between two dresses (no sweatpants here). She was very pleased at not having to wear her worn, damaged clothing.

"These are real nice. I'll be able to mend my other clothes now", Alice said. She shyly looked over at Bill, "Please let Mr. Blue know how much we appreciate his generosity. This is all real, real nice".

Bill nodded, "of course. Alright, you should all have what you need. You and her will follow Mrs. O'Miley", Bill said, while pointing to me and Alice. "The rest of you follow me", he added, as they all went back down the stairs. The other women followed Bill while chatting with each other about the outfits they had acquired. Let's just say they had all chosen the more "colorful" outfits in the big closet. Alice and I had chosen the more practical outfits, basic dresses with modest hems and fabrics that looked like they could stand a little hard work. When Mrs. O'Miley had come back, she had pulled out a couple aprons for both of us to wear over them, which was a relief.

"Follow me", she said, as she turned and marched down the hallway with Alice and I scooting after her while we clutched our "new" clothes. We both had a bit to carry and my shoulder was hurting from carrying the grocery bag stuffed with who knows what (I hadn't had the chance to really look and see what human Viking Eric had put in there). She showed us our room, which appeared to face the back of the building. There was a bed, which we were supposed to share I guess, a nightstand, a small table with a couple chairs, an armoire, a couple lamps, and what looked like a bathroom sink against the wall.

There was also a tiny, black stove with a stovepipe meandering it's way out the wall next to it. And judging by the temperature in this room, we were going to need it. Even though it was only late September, it was quite cool outside and this room didn't seem to be receiving much heat from the iron sliver of a radiator in the corner.

Mrs. O'Miley waved one of her ham sized fists in the general direction of the room. "We have coal in a shed out back for the stove. You'll need to fetch it yourself. There are clean linens in the cupboard. Get cleaned up, change your clothes and come back downstairs. We need to get some work done. Come along!" she barked, "Don't waste all night!" Alice and I hustled as we heard her thumping feet go back down the stairs. I had a sneaky suspicion that Mrs. O'Miley was not going to be a fun boss.

Alice and I raced around the room, putting stuff in the armoire and throwing the rest of our things on the bed to organize later. Neither of us wanted to see what Mrs. O'Miley was like if she really got ticked off. I was a little embarrassed as I pulled my clothes off since they were so odd and old fashioned to Alice's eyes. Fortunately , Alice turned her back and busied herself with putting her things away while I tried to get washed up a little.

I had a religious moment when I realized there was honest to God Ivory soap on the sink. Holding the pristine white bar in my hand, I came really close to kissing it, and probably would have if Alice hadn't been there.

It was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen.

Unfortunately, my Moment was ruined by the faucet only dispensing cold water and I do mean COLD water. It was almost as bad as the pond human Eric had swam in. "There's no hot", I mentioned over my shoulder to Alice.

"It's a cold water flat I guess. It's still better than having to pump for it!" Alice laughed. She was right. I wondered where the bathroom was or if there WAS a bathroom. Were they still using outhouses? I mentioned this out loud . "They might have a privy with one of those modern flush toilets", Alice mused, "since there's running water and a sewer system". Well that made sense, I hoped she was right about the "modern" flush toilets. That combined with the bar of soap I was clutching in my hand like a talisman would combine to put me into a pretty darn good mood, even as tired as I was. I couldn't wait to try out the bed.

We got washed up and dressed as quickly as we could. I wasn't able to wash my hair since there wasn't time. Alice found a brush in the nightstand and helped me get my hair brushed and braided, so at least it looked neater. Pulling on our aprons, we went running back down the stairs.

"Took you long enough", Mrs. O'Miley grumbled "You think I'm going to put up with any lollygagging?" Alice and I just gave each other a look behind her back. No response was probably the best response. "I need potatoes peeled for soup. The next group will be coming in a bit".

So we got started, and while I've worked with all kinds of people (at Merlottes we get a little of everything) , I'll have to say Mrs. O'Miley wasn't high on my list of "easy to work with" type people. She would bark out an order, wave one of those big hands in some vague direction so at first Alice and I were scurrying around like demented mice. You'd think with me being a telepath, I would have an advantage, but no and she seemed to like Alice better than me. It sounds petty, I know.

Working in an unfamiliar kitchen is always disorienting, but the fact of it was, I was struggling from the lack of modern kitchen implements. Alice of course, had no such issue. We peeled and sliced what felt like a bushel of potatoes for soup, and sliced up fresh sausage for that as well. Mrs. O'Miley was chopping various fresh herbs and the kitchen smelled nice as we worked.

The first group of men trooped in, smelling strongly of …something…I'm not sure what a distillery smelled like, but I wasn't expecting this. It was so acidic and tomatoish, combined with the smell of tobacco. Two of the men were from our original group and one of them nodded at me as I served him . They were wearing new/old clothes too. A couple of the other men eyed me and Alice in a speculative manner, which is something I was used to from Merlottes. Their thoughts were predictable, although tempered with the values of a past long gone to me.

"What's your name?" one of the men inquired, while I refilled his cup with coffee.

"Eat your food and take mind", Mrs. O'Miley interrupted, "none of you is being paid to socialize".

He quickly put his head down muttering about not meaning no harm and sipped his coffee. The Lucky Strike cigarettes all came out and they thumped their way out smoking, talking quietly as they went back to work, wherever that was. Alice and I scrubbed bowls and cups in one of the big porcelain sinks and when we were done, Mrs. O'Miley directed us outside.

It was hard to see even with the large lights hovering over us off the back of the house. I found out where the bathroom was as a man came out of a small room tucked off the back of the house and I could hear the distinct sound of flushing.

"Sookie!" I snapped back to attention, looking at Mrs. O'Miley's grim face. "Stop your wool gathering, you can do that on your own time. There's work to be done". I simply nodded vigorously, afraid to say anything back to her. There were two large baskets of laundry. " I need you two to get these washed and hung. By this evening ,when you get up, they should be dry and ready for ironing. You can use our new washing machine (her voice sounded quite proud) that Mr. Blue bought. He is a very generous man and the machine costs a lot of money, so don't break it. The soap is in the pantry".

With those ominous words, she clomped her way back into the house, while Alice and I tried to figure out how to use this crazy looking machine. I remembered my Gran mentioning her mother having something like this when she was a girl . It looked like a large tub on legs with a motor underneath and a manual wringer on the top. Alice said they had always done their clothes by hand, so she wasn't a lot of help. I poked around a bit, and found what appeared to be a pull cord , like on a lawn mower. (Maytag ,a little metal plate on the side read) I gave a couple yanks and it started up, apparently it ran on gas and I be darned if it didn't' sound EXACTLY like a lawn mower. We'd forgotten to put water in it, so Alice turned the spigot while I ran and got the soap.

It was a good thing I wasn't wearing the big Civil War reenactors dress because the skirt might have gotten caught in the motor. This thing was a lawsuit waiting to happen, the motor was completely open with the belts spinning at some crazy rpm. And if you got your fingers caught in the wringer , you were going to lose them. But the agitator in the middle of the tub chugged back and forth , the water moved, the soap was poured in, we dunked the clothes and we got them clean somehow. We stumbled around looking for the clothesline in the dark. It turned out there were a few clotheslines strung between the house and other buildings. There were several outbuildings and what appeared to be a garage too. The garage door was closed, but you could see figures moving around behind the smoked glass on the front. Once the clothes were all up, we dragged the baskets back into the kitchen and went to Mrs. O'Miley, wondering what else she had for us to do.

She looked us both over, "Go to bed, I'll be up shortly. We have a lot to do tomorrow, so no horsing around". Oh yeah, that's what I wanted to do, go running around having fun when I was ready to drop to the floor and sleep forever. Alice and I didn't give her a chance to change her mind. We hightailed it up the stairs.

Exhaustion was the theme of this evening and after a brief discussion, we decided that our hair was going to have to wait until the next day. Not to mention, doing my hair would be difficult in our small sink. We had both selected a dressing gown and robe when picking clothes from the big closet, so this was what we wore to bed. Oddly, the metal bucket next to the little stove was full of coal, even though neither of us had remembered (or had the time) to go get any from the coal shed. Alice carefully put some in, and lit a fire with some small twists of paper and matches sitting on top of the little black pot belly stove. After blowing on it a couple times and making sure it started, she trotted back to the bed where I was trying to get comfortable.

The bed had the old style springs and the mattress had seen better days. I tried not to think about anything that might be living in it. At least the sheets were clean and the pillowcases were filled with feathers of course. Sleeping with a stranger was weird, but after spending a VERY full day with Alice, I felt like I'd known her much longer. Alice didn't see anything strange in sleeping with someone else, since it appeared she slept with siblings at home. Hopefully, she wasn't one of those people who thrash around in their sleep. We both lay there for a few minutes in the muted darkness. There was some light coming through the window from security lights outside and the little stove was starting to glow.

The room was getting warmer and combined with Alice's body heat from the other side of the bed, I felt like I could finally relax. A train whistle pierced the outside and combined with the soft "clank" of the radiators, my body felt heavier as I sunk into a blessed sleep. It seemed like forever since I had felt moderately safe and comfortable enough to sleep without keeping one ear open.

Alice's voice interrupted my oncoming slumber, " What do you think Sookie? This seems decent enough, don't you think? It's not so bad. It's not like we're involved with...the well…you know".

"I think we were lucky to get this job", I answered honestly. Other than the fact that we were going to become vampire snack machines, which of course I didn't mention.

"Yes, we were", she said excitedly, "I can't wait to send my mama the money when we get paid. It's going to help with the little ones so much". Her voice was genuinely happy and I felt a little ashamed of myself. When you get down to it, a lot of these people would probably still be happy to have these jobs even if they DID know about the vampires. They were doing what they had to do to keep their families afloat and I didn't begrudge them one bit. "Mrs. O'Miley is a little …"she started to add.

A bitch was what I was thinking, but I didn't want to shock Alice so instead I just said , " grumpy?"

She laughed, "yeah, I guess so. She'll probably be nicer once she sees how hard we work and this all becomes routine". Alice the optimist, God bless her glass half full heart.

"Good night Alice", I said, a small smile on my face.

"Good night Sookie"

I could feel Alice's mind slipping into sleep, which was a relief for me so I could relax my shields a bit to fall asleep. Somewhere in the house, Mrs. O'Miley was already asleep, I could feel a sleeping human brain that had to be her.

Squirming a little, I sighed and buried myself into my pillow, getting comfortable since I wasn't sure what time Mrs. O'Miley would be rousing us out of bed. She'd probably bang a pot with a spoon or something equally obnoxious and loud, like a drill seagent.

There was a vampire in the room.

I jolted awake as I recognized the "blank" space that signified a vampire brain. A dark moving shadow that was barely visible from the soft glow of the stove flashed to the bed and was on top of Alice before you could blink. For a second, I froze in terror, not sure what to do. It took me a second to recognize the male vampire as his legs wrapped around Alice and brushed mine.

It was Bill.

That racheted down the terror a notch , since I was pretty sure he wasn't going to kill us. The bed creaked under the additional weight and a squeak escaped Alice as she woke up and her survival instincts drove her fear screaming to the surface. The bed shook as her feet kicked under the bedcovers and she tried to scream, but he already had one hand over her mouth. I could tell she was starting to cry and that did it for me.

Without thinking, I twisted around, grabbing his shoulder and yelling, "Bill, stop!" A hiss accompanied a hard hand and arm that clamped over my mouth and slammed me back down into the bed. I grabbed his arm with both hands, but that was pointless. It would be easier for me to knock down a brick wall with my bare hands.

"Shhhhhhh" emitted softly from his lips. His face was poised over Alice's and she relaxed into his glamour. I kept kicking and wishing I had a good shot at the Compton family jewels. Suddenly, his weight was on top of me and the face that I knew so well was hovering over mine and that dark , sweet voice spoke, "Relax, you're fine. You're perfectly safe and resting. Your friend will be fine. You won't remember me tonight or what I'm about to do to you and in the morning, you'll wake up feeling refreshed".

Oh, how I wish this were true.

TBC

****************************************************************************************8

_Whoops! I guess young vampire Bill got a little hungry huh? I had to sit down and really try to calculate how much these vamps drink given what we know from the books, even when drinking from Sookie every day, they all still drink TB , including Eric. That means , they need a lot, especially if they're trying to keep their skin color looking fairly normal. _

_If you want to see what one of those crazy old gas powered Maytag washers looks like , there are videos on Youtube. com. Just type in 1930's Maytag washers and a bunch of clips will come up..all posted by men no less. You ask them to do laundry and they act like the buttons are too complicated, but show them an 80 year old washer and they become fascinated and start tinkering with it. _

_*shakes head * MEN _

_next chapter : we find out a little more about Mr. Blue's organization, more Eric , find out where Pam is , and Sookie soaks up the local atmosphere_


	13. Chapter 13

_A/N Charlaine Harris owns these fun characters and the vampy universe they live in. She does not however, own the town that this action takes place in, so there. _

_Exposition kills me every time. I finished this a couple days ago, but i've been having to fix all my mistakes and correct errors I found when doing my final read through. Thank you all for being so patient. For those of you who don't know, I updated Bill and Eric's Excellent Adventure and I posted a brand new 7 chapter story last month called Night Falls. Please check it out if you havn't yet. _

_RECAP: Sookie is now with Eric and his little group of bootlegging vampires and humans in Maryland, USA 1931. Her and the group of humans who were hired have been brought to a small town in the Northern part of the state. The town has a racetrack and racing season is the following week, so Eric , who goes by the name Eric Blue, needed more employees. Sookie and her new friend Alice have just gone to bed, they're sharing a room and a bed, which was common back then. Sookie has just realized that Bill has broken into the room, he's jumped on them, glamoured her Alice and now she's waiting to see what's going to happen:_

It was like I was reliving those horrible moments in the trunk of the Cadillac all over again. The only difference being that I wasn't being attacked in the cold and dark, but in a warm, comfortable bed.

Like that made a difference.

I had locked those memories down tight a long time ago, and decided I wasn't going to ruin the rest of my life by replaying them over and over again, like some horror movie marathon on Halloween night. And I had come to terms with what Bill had done because I knew why it had happened and that he had not chosen to do that to me. Vampire survival drives had pushed everything that was left of Bill Compton out of his head and I had paid the price. Bill had been very sorry, I had forgiven him, the horrible evil women responsible for bringing it about were dead and that should have been that.

But I had never really dealt with it, not really, I'd just shunted the entire episode into a dusty corner where I had left my Uncle Bartlett, getting staked, Eric hovering over me as the stake was wrenched from my body and the resulting terror of it, being shot, my parents death, my Gran's death and on and on.

Now, all that came roaring back like a giant tsunami pushing those memories forward in 70 inch flat screen high definition, reminding me that my mortality was always on a thread.

I was pinned under Bill, since the blankets were wrapped around me and he had his legs on either side. I wanted to keep kicking, screaming, jab him in the eyes, yank his ears, twist his privates…something! The part of me that was determined to keep me around butted her head into this mess….let's call her Survivor Sookie. She was the one who stabbed Rene when he came after me, trying to punish me for dating a vampire, she helped me fight back when a bully rapist named Gabe started beating me in the basement of a place that dared call itself a church, and when I heard Bill say words that I thought would destroy me, she had helped me find my feet.

Right now, she was telling me to hold still and shut the hell up. I was almost trembling with the effort to hold still, and wasn't sure if Bill would be able to tell the difference. It helped that Bill had loosened his grip on my mouth and had relaxed a bit. I kept telling myself that a vampire wouldn't hire someone, feed them dinner, cloth them and give them a place to sleep if all they were going to do was drain them. Besides, who was going to finish the laundry, cook dinner and clean this dump anyway? The vampires certainly weren't going to do it.

I had a mental image of Bill and Eric in frilly aprons with friendly checks and fruits scattered across them. Bill was mopping the floor and Eric was running clothes through the Maytag's wringer. Then it would get stuck, Eric would get mad and either yell at Bill to fix it or break it with one hand. I bit my lip as I almost made myself laugh. Bill had shifted back onto Alice and I was breathing normally now. My head stayed perfectly still, as I rolled my eyes towards him, trying to keep an eye on what he was doing. He wasn't pulling down the blankets, removing any clothes, or displaying any lusty intentions.

It didn't appear he was going to do anything besides feeding. Well, I had kind of figured this out before hadn't I? And I'd come here anyway, which was my choice. So, I guess pretend glamour it is. Well, I'd faked it with Eric before and that had been much harder since he'd gone down between my legs. It appeared Bill was just going for the typical neck bite. If he tried anything else with either me or Alice though, all bets were off.

I wondered if he planned on feeding on both of us, or it was just the fact we were together that he had to glamour us both, so he could feed on one. How much blood was he drinking anyway? I busied myself with those mental calculations, trying to calm myself further. Bill had buried his face into Alice's neck and I heard a soft sound escape his throat as he bit down. He was clutching her to him as he drank. Vampires love the warmth of humans. I'd heard that more times than I could count.

So, I lay there counting off the seconds and listened to Bill's soft grunts as he drank. Alice, lucky girl, was blissfully unaware of what was going on, her mind a relaxed blank. It sounded like Bill was finishing and he eased off of Alice and shifted back to me. Even in the poor light, I could make out the blood around his lips.

Stay calm, stay calm, stay calm.

I reminded myself that Bill had fed from me at least a hundred times during the course of our relationship and that this was no big deal. I'd be fine I kept telling myself. He licked the blood off his lips as he tugged at my gown, baring my shoulder. His thumb gently stroked my cheek while he gazed at my face. What was he waiting for?

"Beautiful", he murmured.

He must be delusional, because I most certainly did not look even remotely close to beautiful's neighborhood right now. I wasn't even in the same zip code. I wish he'd just get on with it, so I could get some sleep.

Finally, he twisted my head away and bit down. I gritted my teeth to stifle the tiny "eep" that wanted to escape. There were conflicting reactions, both of them bad. The first one was a kneejerk response of that rising panic again, that I quickly batted back down. The second one, I'm ashamed to say, was a pitiful reminder of how much I used to love Bill biting me. A tiny part of me… a tiny, TINY part was wishing I could wrap my arms around him and continue.

I must be more tired than I thought.

The drinking seemed to go on longer than necessary in my opinion. I couldn't believe how much blood Bill was drinking. When I got home (IF my big jerk of an inner voice said) , I was going to write a really nice letter to the True Blood people about what an incredible service they were supplying with their product. Without True Blood, how many people were these vampires feeding on every night?

Then to my undying relief, Bill stopped sucking on me, and his cool tongue lapped at the puncture marks he had made near my shoulder. His tongue tracing my shoulder made my legs press together tightly, remembering what else his tongue could do.

I must be delirious.

After he pushed my gown back up, he did something that surprised me. He got up, knelt down next to the little black potbelly stove and started messing with it. Its little door creaked open, and I could see him out of the corner of my eye poking the coals with an iron poker. The glow from its open door increased. It looked like he was putting more coal in and he poked it some more. The room's temperature went up substantially. It occurred to me that he might have been the one who brought the coal up earlier while Alice and I were slaving away in the kitchen.

A low iron clank and he was standing by the bed again, motionless, just staring. The increased light from the stove allowed me to see his face more clearly. I've worked in a bar long enough to recognize the expression and I was a little shocked.

He looked lonely.

Vampires appear expressionless to most humans. But, I can read Bill pretty well. He had always tended to be protective towards me and that included not allowing me to see certain sides of him. I had never seen him look lonely before. He always seemed content with solitude. A little pang stabbed my heart, while I waited to see what he was going to do.

Then a blur of motion and he was gone.

I waited a couple of minutes, then tiptoed to the door and double checked the lock. I could have sworn it had been locked before, but maybe he had picked it. Then I checked the window. There was a fire escape outside of it and the window was unlocked, mystery solved. I latched the window. After checking on Alice, who was snoozing away like a baby (I hated her at this moment), I piled back in the bed and finally…FINALLY was able to get some sleep.

888888888888888888888888

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Mrs. O'Miley's gruff voice bellowed from the other side of our door."GET UP! We've got work to do!"Her thumping footsteps faded away as Alice and I jumped out of bed, washed our faces, pulled our dresses and aprons on and stumbled down the stairs.

We both used the toilet. I almost wanted to cry when I saw the familiar white shape, even though the tank was hung on the wall above my head and had a long chain. The little room had a slight sewer type smell, but I didn't care. And there was toilet paper! Not very good toilet paper, as it turned out, but so what? I finished my business in there and rushed back into the kitchen.

I washed my hands quickly at the big, porcelain sink and got ready for work. Bright light streamed in the windows, illuminating the organized chaos in the kitchen. It was late morning and Mrs.O'Miley had a full head of steam running. There was more barking at Alice and myself as we ran around trying to follow her instructions.

The backdoor was open with just the screen door there, banging away as we ran in and out. Alice and I went outside to take down the clothes from the lines. They had dried well in the sunshine, but there was going to be some serious ironing needed without the convenience of permanent press. I was dreading that later. I hoped I would get the chance to explore the property, but right now I was just trying to keep up with the Drill Sergeant…excuse me…Mrs. O'Miley's instructions. It was a good thing I'd grown up in a house filled with antique artifacts to a bygone era of cooking and cleaning. The Stackhouses didn't throw away anything and this helped me identify and use the old fashioned implements available.

I was mashing up some potatoes by hand at the big table, and seriously missing my electric mixer, when there was a knock at the door. A man with bright red hair and a very round pleasant face was at the door. He was wearing an all white uniform with a hat and holding a metal carrier with milk in glass bottles.

"Milkman!"

I wondered if he drove a truck with a cow on the side.

The drill sergeant had taken Alice into the next room and was showing her what she considered the best way to iron clothes. I had selfishly been relieved since I hate ironing. So I approached the door,"hello? May I help you?"

He had a smile as wide as his face,"Why hello there miss! I've got your order. Would you like me to put it into the icebox for you?"

"Ah, I guess so", I replied, a little taken aback by so much morning good cheer and being face to face with an epitome of old fashioned service. My Gran would have been thrilled. He strolled through the door and over to the ice boxes.

"You're new here aren't you?" he asked.

"Yes, I just started last night", I answered, wondering what he knew or didn't know about Eric's little organization.

"I had heard Mr. Blue had hired some more folks for the racetrack's opening. We've increased your milk order according to Mrs.O'Miley's instructions." He said, as he bent over putting the milk bottles neatly into one of the boxes. "Your ice looks a little low, I'll let iceman Iggy know to replenish it tonight. My name is Larry by the way"

"I'm Sookie", I replied automatically.

"The ice won't be necessary", answered Mrs. O'Miley as she walked back into the kitchen. Her feet making a distinctive thumping sound on the pale green linoleum tile. "Mr. Blue has decided to purchase a few of those new Frigidaire machines."

"Oh really?" Mr. Milkman said. "The Spencers and the Van Diver's just bought them. They're really something. It's amazing what they can do nowadays." He didn't seem to be in any hurry to leave.

"Yes," she said proudly," they'll be delivered tonight. Two will be in here and the adjoining buildings will have one each. "

" Well, I'll be happy to fill them up for you Mrs.O'Miley", he laughed.

"I'm sure you will", she said gruffly, almost smiling…..almost. "Don't you have deliveries to make? Mr. Peters won't want to hear about your dilly dallying."

"Actually, you're my last one, but you're right, I need to get back", he agreed. "You have a pleasant day Mrs. O'Miley….Sookie." he said, glancing at me and tipping his hat. I simply nodded back. The screen door banged shut behind him and we went back to work.

The mashed potatoes turned out to be for some kind of casserole I'd never heard of, but Mrs. O'Miley finished it anyway. We boiled beans on the stove top for something called Baked Bean Sandwiches, which sounded gross and I had to open a whole slew of cans from the pantry without my trusty electric can opener, which sucked.

Even with all the windows open and it wasn't really warm outside, the kitchen was getting hotter from the big stove rocking along. And it seemed like there was a delivery or service man of some kind knocking on the door every fifteen minutes. I had to sign for baskets full of apples and corn that hadn't been shucked yet. (Guess who got to do the shucking?) Then the water company guy came to read the meter which turned out to be in a dark little room on the other side of the house. The mailman came which was good, because I could read the addresses on the envelopes and see where the hell I was. I felt like it would look odd, if I asked about it.

There were a number of business type letters addressed to Eric from banks, stock brokers, and lawyers. Ther e were also what appeared to be bills from grocers, clothing places, grain supply houses and all sorts of other businesses. All of them were addressed to Mr. Eric Blue, at 3 different house numbers on Union St, Havre de Grace, MD. One that really caught my attention listed a return address in Paris, France, with the name Pamela written above it. I recognized the handwriting as Pam's.

So I was in a town with a French name I'd never heard of in the northern part of Maryland. Pam was in France doing God knows what. Eric was running his little illegal alcohol/bootlegging business here with Malcolm, Bill, Gerald while he was human and with one more, maybe a couple more vampires. The good part of this was that I hadn't heard whisper about Lorena, and Bill had gotten away from her around this time, I think. So she was out of the picture, which was one of my bright spots in all this.

There was more knocking at the back door. A boy's voice called out,"Hello?"

"Good morning, Sammy!" I greeted him enthusiastically. It was nice to see someone slightly familiar.

Mrs. Thumping Footsteps came back in. "I called for you ten minutes ago. Where have you been?"

"Sorry ma'am, I soon as Mr. Jackson told me you needed me, I took off lickity split!"

The sour expression said it all. "I need you and Sookie to take the morning and tonight's meals over to the cannery."

"Yes ma'am"

"Do it right away and no lollygagging."

I'll bet Mrs. O'Miley listed "lollygagging" under the Ten Commandments of Thou Shalt Nots.

"Yes ma'am"

"Ah, where is it?" I asked.

"Mr. Blue showed me where everything was last night. Will we need the car?" he asked, clutching his battered cap in his hands. He didn't appear to have received any new clothes, which distressed me.

"Both the car and truck are out. You can pull the little wagon in the garage. It's only a few blocks. Go on now" she said, waving her dishrag at us. She added, "And come back right away. I have some more errands for you."

Sammy and I hustled out to the garage behind the house. We loaded up the little wagon with boxes of food, containers, a couple large stew pots, a basket of apples, and some bottles of milk. Alice waved goodbye as we traipsed off down the street. Now, that I had a tiny bit of sleep (thanks a lot Bill), and it was daylight, I was able to see my surroundings for the first time.

The front street of Union was a very wide thoroughfare that reminded me of the street that the Bellefleurs mansion sat upon. Large trees were neatly planted all the way down the very long street, announcing how civilized they were. We were on the corner. Union and Bourbon the sign said. Well, what do you know? There was a large, stone Victorian house settled into the corner like it had been there forever. Two round sections sticking out of each side of the house gave it a slight castle like appearance. One side sported a witch's cap and the other side had a round, open second story porch. There were two full stories and what looked like a full attic under a steep roof. Green and dark red fancy trim ran across its porch, doorways and the gables. The roofline reminded me of pictures I had seen of houses in Europe. It had a little building behind it built in exactly the same style, but it was only two stories.

Our building was a tall, skinny red brick building that reminded me more of a townhome you see in a city except it was standing by itself. It had a bold, white porch with impressive pillars. Besides the walk out basement, there was a main floor, a second floor, a full attic as well. In the daylight, I had observed a fire escape landing outside one of my bedroom window and up to the attic window. Then next to that was a simpler white Victorian style house with a deep wraparound porch that didn't have all the fancy trim. These three buildings had the address numbers I had seen on Eric's mail.

Behind all these houses were the various garages and outbuildings that faced an alley that ran behind them. I had noticed some small, more ramshackle type houses perched along the edge of the alley while I was taking down the laundry. But it seemed to be mostly black people living in them.

A bunch of workmen were walking into the white house, looking tired and they glanced at me and Sammy curiously. A few of them looked familiar. So the men were in that house. We women were in the middle brick house and that left the big stone fancy house for the vampires of course. I wondered where the "entertainer" women were staying.

"This way Miss Sookie", Sammy said, waving me along. Looking down Union street, it looked like it ended at the water, but the direction we were walking in I could see water there too. A train whistle blew and I almost jumped it was so loud. There was a train going the same direction as us a few blocks away. It was going backwards, very slowly, blowing steam everywhere and a few vehicles had piled up waiting for it to finish clearing the street.

Sammy and I were managing well enough with the wagon. I was glad I had been able to shed the 20lbs of skirt. It was awesome being able to breath and my clothes felt really light in comparison, even though they were still heavier than my regular modern day Walmart clothes. I was glad for the longish dress though and my conservative, dark granny stockings so no one would be able to see I hadn't shaved my legs in a while. Women shaved their legs back then didn't they?

We crossed over a couple more streets or alleys I guess. I could see women outside, hanging clothing on the lines in their backyards, large woven fruit baskets at their feet. No Rubbermaid ergonomic laundry baskets for these women. Cars of various vintages came puttering back and forth. Some had the beautiful graceful lines of cars of this era, complete with lots of chrome and sideboards. Others looked like genuine original Ford Model-T's that their owners were cajoling into continuing to rattle along. And there were even a few horse drawn wagons clip clopping by as well, piled high with a various array of goods.

The final couple streets were obviously a business district and there were more cars, as well as people walking purposefully everywhere. The strong scent of tomatoes was wafting in our direction. It was coming from our destination which was a very long brick and stone building at the water's edge. It was two big stories high, with large windows and even doors at the second level that men were hanging out of yelling at the men below. Vehicles and even trucks were pulling up to the dock doors with crates being loaded and unloaded at a rapid pace. There was a dock off the back of the building hanging over the water and long open boats filled with baskets of bright red tomatoes were waiting to be unloaded. There was the sound of machinery thrumming from inside, combining with the rest of the racket.

I marched up to a man who seemed to be in charge of the loading. There was a lot of noise, so I had to yell, "HEY THERE!" He turned his heavy jaw in my direction with an unlit cigar clamped tightly between his lips. A head jerk was all the acknowledgment I was going to receive. "WHERE DO I FIND MR. BLUE'S EMPLOYEES?"

"WHY? WHO WANTS TO KNOW?" he yelled back, his beady eyes staring at me and Sammy like we were dangerous characters.

"MRS. O'MILEY SENT US! WE HAVE THEIR MEALS HERE!"I yelled back. I was going to lose my voice if I had to do this much longer.

His face brightened right up at the mention of food, so he gestured towards one of the younger men loading a truck. "HEY BOBBY! SHOW THIS LADY WHERE THE CHOW GOES!" Bobby came scurrying over and helped us pull the wagon up a ramp to the dock level. We followed him past some offices with their windows open, metal GE fans blowing, a young man wearing a shirt and tie typing on one of those old manual typewriters. The inside was warm, from the machinery I was assuming. We entered a room that was obviously used for meals. It had a long table, with some cabinets and shelves for storage and a big sink. Humming away in the corner was this generation's version of a high tech refridgerator.

Sammy and I put the various food stuffs where Bobby directed. The guys working now were leaving shortly, then an evening crew would be coming in. The milk and some of the food went into the fridge's steel shelves. It was cold inside (of course), but very small. My brother Jason would have called it a beer fridge.

As we were leaving, I stopped and took a peek into the main factory floor. There were big steel vats and the baskets of tomatoes were being dumped into them. Judging by the steam and heat, they were being boiled for canning. The smell of stewing tomatoes was overwhelming. Conveyor belts ran all around, with sweaty guys manning them and keeping an eye on things. Everyone was bustling. This looked like a legit business, so how did the bootlegging come into play? Maybe this was a front and Eric had some legitimate businesses to hide what he was doing? Or maybe I had watched the Godfather with Jason too many times.

Our wagon had a freshly canned crate of tomatoes on it, so Sammy and I pushed back up the gradual slope towards our street. The train I had noticed a couple blocks away was backed all the way to the water's edge in between the factory buildings, making it easy for the newly canned goods to be loaded onto it.

A police officer was walking by and he tipped his cap towards me politely, then glanced at the cannery building. That's when I caught it, just a whiff of his thoughts. He KNEW about the booze being made there…underground! I glanced back for a second. The "first" floor sat high. I had assumed it was to prevent flooding, but then I saw tiny windows on the lowest level which was halfsunk into the ground, like a basement. Eric wasn't just bootlegging, he was making alcohol as well and using the tomato canning as a cover. The acidic smell of stewing tomatoes drowned everything else out for blocks, making it impossible to pick up anything that smelled like a still. But why didn't the cop do anything about it? He strolled down the street, whistling and saying hello to people, his broad navy shoulders relaxed with his knowledge. This didn't appear to be a large town, not much bigger than Bon Temps, and yet Eric was doing something very illegal right under everyone's nose. The only thing I could think of is that Eric must be paying off the right people. I knew enough about this time in history to know that there had been plenty of drinking AFTER prohibition, which meant a lot of powerful people were looking the other way. They wanted their booze too.

As we slowly pushed the wagon up the street, I pondered this potential fact. I wondered how much money Eric had made from this little business venture. It had to be a lot. Other than paying off police, and who knows how many politicians, he wasn't paying taxes on what he was brewing and he had numerous locations for selling it. And with the racetrack here, he was going to make a killing when it opened next week.

"Hey look Miss. Sookie!" Sammy's high voice interrupted my musings. But it wasn't just his voice, there was a lot of honking going on above me. I looked up and saw the biggest flock of birds I've ever seen outside the Discovery channel. Massive amounts of geese and ducks flying South for the winter, were sailing over head. There had to be hundreds of them! I stood there like Sammy, gaping up at nature's display. Sammy was pretend shooting, with his hands lined up, mouthing "pow, pow" to himself.

"How many did you get there boy?" a man's voice called out. A black car had stopped next to us, and the man was leaning out the window, his fedora pushed back on his head.

"A hundred!" Sammy announced, which made the man and his two buddies laugh.

"I'm looking for The Bayou Hotel. Do you know where that is?" he asked, including me in the question.

"Sorry, I'm not from around here", I answered.

Sammy jumped in, "If you go straight down this street, you'll dead end at the Bay. Turn left and it's a big brick building next to the water. Are you staying there sir?"

"Why yes we are, we're here for The Graw's opening. We love the ponies and we've heard this is a fun place for a fella to relax", he smiled, winking at me in a manner I didn't exactly find appropriate.

"I'm sure you'll win boatloads of dough sir", Sammy said, which made the men laugh some more.

"I hope you're right. Thanks for the directions boy", the man called out as he tossed a coin out the window towards Sammy and drove off. Sammy dived for it, then inspected it carefully. "A nickel!" he exclaimed happily as he wrapped it in a hankerchief and stuffed it into his pocket.

"How did you know where the hotel was?" I asked, curiously.

"Mr. Crumpton drove me past it last night. We sell them supplies for their parties and their restaurant."

"Supplies" being code for booze, I guess. Sammy was a smart kid. Even he knew not to say certain words out loud.

We got back to the house, a crate of tomatoes and a nickel richer. Mrs. O'Miley thought we had taken too long, of course. As soon as I walked in the backdoor, a pad of paper and a pencil was shoved into my hands.

"Write down what I tell you. Then you'll take this list down to the stores. ", Mrs. O'Miley said. It was on the tip of my tongue to ask her why she hadn't made the list herself, instead of waiting until I got back. There was resentment and embarrassment coming from her brain. Then I realized why Bill had asked me and Alice about our reading and writing skills. Mrs. O'Miley was illiterate. That explained a lot.

I didn't have time to think about this, because Mrs. O'Miley was off and running. Not only was she giving me a massive list of things to purchase, but she was telling me where to buy them. So apparently, she just expected me to figure out where these stores were. I hoped they were all down in that little business district. This wasn't a huge town, I should be able to find them all, I hoped.

Since I didn't have a purse, Mrs. O'Miley handed me a simple brown fabric one with a short strap. She carefully counted out the money to me (nothing wrong with her math skills) and warned me that she would need a receipt for every purchase no matter how small. I didn't want to think of how she'd react if I came back without correct change.

After listening to Mrs. O'Miley's dire warning about lollygagging AGAIN (even Alice gave me a sympathetic look), Sammy and I took off once again. Alice's face had an envious look as we traipsed off. I felt sorry for her having to stay with Mrs. Grumpy Gus all afternoon. It wasn't my fault she liked Alice better than me and wanted her around.

Lollygagging became a serious threat as I took in all the adorable little storefronts and the incredibly cheap (to my modern eyes) prices. The butcher had sirloin steak for $.20 a pound, twenty cents! It made me wish I had a dozen of those hemp bags, so I could fill them up and take all these groceries home with me. While I was debating how I was going to carry all these goods while placing my order with the butcher (oxtails, cow's tongue, liver, hamburger, and a bunch of soup bones that were FREE), he asked me who it was for, having figured out I was shopping for someone else. When I told him it was for Mr. Blue, he said he would have it delivered later in the afternoon.

Sammy stayed outside on the sidewalk, while I shopped. I was on the edge of asking him to come in with me and then realized he had decided he might not be welcome. That bothered me, but this was no time to make a scene for civil rights.

He did this even when I went into L&P's grocers. There were a couple black women shopping in the obviously white run store, but they also looked well to do, with very nice dresses, sweaters, pearl necklaces and adorable cloche style hats hugging their heads. It was amazing they were dressed this nice just to go grocery shopping. I wasn't even wearing a hat, and my clothing was obviously secondhand. Sammy of course looked like a street ragamuffin, and the man helping me eyed him through the glass.

Telling the grocer that my purchases were for Mr. Blue got me plenty of help. It was a very small grocery store by modern day standards and there were six guys in there helping customers. The guy helping me (George), offered to have everything delivered the next morning and apologized that he couldn't deliver it that afternoon, but his truck was being repaired. I compared this with Walmart and how it was remarkable if they had six people manning the registers up front, much less find people to help you.

He rang me up and it was hard not to laugh at the prices. Most of the canned vegetables and canned soups were ten cents each, but there was a sale on Campbell's tomato soup, four cans for twenty five cents. I wasn't buying the canned soups though, since Mrs. O'Miley was making her own. It was much cheaper, especially for so many people. The Lux laundry detergent was $.22 and had a picture on the box advertising that a free piece of china was in every box, which was amazing. I realized that the picture matched some china I had seen on one of the shelves in the kitchen. Hey, if Tide started giving away free dishes with their detergent, I'd probably be inclined to buy it too. The mesmerizing prices continued to dazzle me; 4 dozen eggs for a dollar, 4 pounds of spinach for $.20, a dozen oranges for $.20, and I had to double check my writing on this one, twenty POUNDS of sugar for $1! I don't think I had ever smiled this much at a grocery store and given the current economic climate, George probably hadn't seen this much smiling either. I paid him carefully, shoved my receipt into my little brown purse and Sammy and I were on our way to our next stop.

Given the level of poverty and hunger I had seen in the city, I realized that the vampires were actually feeding us really well. Our diet was balanced and heavy with protein, which humans need if they're being fed from regularly. The prices may have looked cheap to me, but people didn't make much money either and to receive a paycheck plus being fed so well and given a decent place to sleep. Well, no wonder I hadn't seen any "lollygagging" at the dock. None of these men wanted to lose these relatively cushy jobs. I had to think that the vampires were feeding on all of them. I wondered if these men would stay if they knew.

I had to say the answer would probably be yes.

Realizing this alleviated some of my guilt at knowing all these employees were vampire snack machines. Eric wasn't stupid and he loved making money. Killing any of these employees would raise suspicion in a town this small not to mention he needed the labor. So, as long as no one did anything stupid, like stealing from Eric, we should all be okay. It may sound silly that I was feeling so responsible for all these people I didn't know, but I did. Most of them were a lot like my family, not a lot of education, barely staying above the poverty line and struggling to stay afloat financially. I understood them and I was the only person here who really knew what was going on, so I would watch out for them if I could.

"Here it is Miss. Sookie!" Sammy's voice interjected into my angsty thoughts. I looked up at the sign. Mrs. O'Miley had been very specific that we could only go to McLhinney's News Depot and no other. They were the only place for miles that sold the New York Times and Eric had to have it. She said they often received special packages for us as well, so I was to ask.

There were stacks of newspapers from different places, magazines, and they also sold maps, candy, gum and cigarettes. It also appeared this was a loitering spot for older men with nothing else to do. While the man working there went into the back to get Eric's package, a couple of other men were sitting on a bench arguing about what a nitwit the current president was. Some things never change I guess. This gave me an opportunity to study a map hanging on the wall above the cash register.

"Trying to figure out where you are there hon?" one of the older men asked me.

"Actually, yes", I agreed. "I just got here yesterday and I haven't had time to really check out my surroundings. "

"I heard Mr. Blue had hired some new employees, you're one of them I expect?"

Everyone seemed to know about Eric's little job fair. "Yes, I am", I replied.

"Well, if you look closely at the map, right where the Susquehanna river pours into the Chesapeake Bay….that's where you are. "

I peered closely at the map, then saw it. Perched right next to the water's edge, this town fronted both the river and the bay, that's why there was water on more than one side…it jutted out a little. Since this guy seemed to relish being Mr. Tour Guide, I figured it was safe to ask him a few more things. "Um, how do I pronounce the name anyway?"

This caused some laughter amongst the men on the bench and the proprietor who had come back with Eric's package. "Well, there's a bit of discussion about that….but the most common is Hava dee Grace", he said slowly.

"Earl, my mama always said it was Hava dee Grass", his buddy chimed in.

"Well, your mama was wrong", Earl shot back. "Anyway, we have some of the best fishing, duck hunting and a racetrack with the best view in the US of A. You can bet your bottom dollar on that."

"And those are just the legal pastimes", his friend snickered.

"Shut your trap! The lady doesn't need to know about all that", Earl replied.

Just then another man walked in, wearing classic hunting gear for water…the rubber overalls, the hat with the snaps, plaid shirt, the whole shebang. That interrupted the conversation as the other men immediately greeted him, " How many did you bag this morning?" Earl asked.

"Oh, maybe twenty", he drawled. "It's not like the old days. Hardly any birds left in the sky anymore. I had all my decoys out too."

"Where were you?"

"In the flats, in my coffin." He laughed. I had no idea what he was talking about.

"Oh for pete's sake, why not just go body booting like your brother?"

"Nah, I like laying back in my seat. Why stand if you don't have to?"

It was like listening to another language being spoken and I thought I knew a little about hunting. The owner smiled at me while I signed for several packages and he put together the newspapers and magazines they always purchased. "The bay has some silt deposits up towards this end that are solid and flat, so they call it the Flats and the water is shallow enough in some areas for a man to stand up in the middle of his decoys. "

"Out in the middle of all that water? Isn't that dangerous?" I asked.

"Oh, as long as the Conowingo dam upstream doesn't decide to open some gates or assuming you don't get run over by a boater", Earl chimed in.

"Did you hear about that banker from New York City?" his buddy asked, clearly spoiling to tell a juicy story.

I took that as my cue to get out of this lair of male gossip."How much do I owe you?" I asked the owner.

"Let Mr. Blue know I'll send him the bill, as usual. He usually sets things right", the owner said, smiling. I had a feeling that some booze was a part of this transaction but that was none of my business. When he handed me the packages, I caught a flash from his mind and almost dropped the flat boxes. As I marched out the door, it was hard not to throw them down now that I knew what some of them were. Not only was I carrying newspapers, magazines, and what appeared to be records; I was carrying adult films too.

I was icked out, which is crazy right? If Eric was involved in bootlegging, cooking up moonshine, prostitution, and goodness knows what else….why not be involved in porn too? Ew, ew, ew. It wasn't like I had never seen one. A time or two at my brother's house, just out of curiosity, I had slid one into the dvd player to see what all the fuss was about. I couldn't imagine what was on these and I didn't want to.

"I'll carry those for you Miss. Sookie", Sammy volunteered.

"Ah, I think I can handle these. How about you take this here?" I said, not wanting to hand adult films over to a child. I gave him the bundled newspapers and magazines instead. We hoofed it back to the house, where predictably, we were accused of lollygagging and taking too much time. What I really wanted to was say, " Well if we didn't have to stop and listen to all the old men gossiping while picking up Mr. Blue's porn films, we wouldn't have taken so long!" But I didn't.

Sammy was sent running out on some errand, while I ended up helping Alice finish up the ironing. Poor Alice had been cooped up all day, folding and ironing huge piles of shirts and pants. The only respite was that Mrs. O'Miley had turned on the radio and they had been listening to some soap operas. Mrs. O'Miley had sat down and was repairing clothing and sewing buttons back on shirts. We did this quietly for a little while, then when the radio announcer was solemnly advising us to tune in tomorrow, the radio was turned off and we were directed back to the kitchen.

We got to eat a meal ourselves which was nice, but we were also making up a tray of food to take next door.

"Who is this for?" Alice asked.

"Mr. Blue and Mr. Crumpton dine together while discussing business at the beginning of the evening", Mrs. O'Miley replied. Yeah, I'll bet they do.

"What about the women who came here with us?" Alice added. I was glad she asked because I was wondering too.

"They're next door. They'll be over here shortly to eat."

"Oh", Alice said, not sure how to respond to the fact that those women were living in the same house with their male employers.

"Come on, the both of you. We'll need to get this together and take them the packages and mail as well. And one of you carry the tray." We scampered around, pulling everything together and we also put some food out for the women who would be showing up shortly for their meal. By this time, it was dusk. All three of us trooped outside and over to the big stone house.

It was beautiful inside with real wood paneling, wallpaper, Tiffany style lamps(I wondered if they were actually "Tiffany") , solid wood furniture upholstered in strong colors. Gilted mirrors reflected the soft light coming from the lamps. The house had a kitchen, but oddly it didn't appear to be used much. The stove in the kitchen looked like it was being utilized for storage, so no cooking here. Of course, it turned out Eric was on the top floor, so we went up the back servant stairs carrying all our parcels and his tray.

Our little procession went down a carpeted, softly lit hallway. Mrs. O'Miley knocked on the door to our left and Eric's deep voice answered "Come in".

Once again, I was nervous about being in Eric's presence. Nervous that he might notice my "otherness" as he had the first time we'd met and especially that he'd notice the fact that I was carrying his blood. Taking a breath and reminding myself to be calm, we trooped into a large room with a heavily sloped ceiling since we were on the top floor. There were more lamps, heavy wood furniture, oriental rugs, and wood paneling. It might as well have had a "men's club only" sign on the door. A door that I assumed went to his official bedroom was on the other side of the sitting room.

Eric and Bill were seated at a round table with large, carved legs. They had various papers in front of them and Bill was making notes on a pad in front of him. It was hard to tell with this colorful, soft light how white their skin was. If they had just fed, it would make the illusion of their being human more believable.

"Good evening Shannon", Eric greeted Mrs. O'Miley. This was the first time I'd heard anyone call her by her first name.

"Evening Mr. Blue", she answered back, directing Alice and me to place the tray and parcels on the table.

"How are things working out with your new helpers?" he asked, smiling encouragingly.

"Well enough, they'll soon be up to snuff I should think with a little more work", she answered. Geez Louise, talk about hard to please. I was trying to get a feel for her relationship with Eric. It was a mystery as to how many of these humans might know who the vampires actually were. Mrs. O'Miley seemed to have a sense that something was "off" , but her imagination (or lack of one) kept her from accepting it. She took Eric at face value and I could see from her total attention on him, that she was a loyal employee. I wondered how long she'd worked for him.

"I've spoken to Malcolm and Victor earlier, and they said the new men appear to be working out very well so far. It looks like we'll have a good crew to get us through racing season", he said.

Victor? I hope this wasn't the Victor I was thinking about, the Victor who was King Felipe's right hand man. Well, it might be a human Victor, right? The name wasn't that uncommon.

"We'll make it through fair enough sir", Mrs. O'Miley responded, practically beaming at Eric. Oh yeah, she was all about Eric. She had certainly not smiled at anyone else like this. Just call Mrs. O'Miley a member of Team Eric. She gestured at the pile we had just set upon the table. "The News Depot had some packages for you and the mail brought a letter from your sister."

"The packages were expected, the letter was not."Eric said, studying the envelope.

"I hope she is well."

"Oh, I'm sure she is. Knowing her, she's probably sent me a bill from Worth. She loves shopping in Paris, as do most ladies." he smiled and gestured towards a large wood framed black and white photograph on a sideboard behind him. It was Pam, dressed in an elegant beaded dress with her hair up and a feathered headpiece. She looked amazing.

"Well, sir I'd like to get back to the kitchen, but first I'm going to show the girls around. I'd like them to get some dusting out of the way tonight." Eric nodded his consent and Mrs. O'Miley showed us out. Bill hadn't said a word during this whole exchange, he had just continued writing on his pad, after nodding at us in greeting.

It turns out the "entertainer" women were on the second floor. They each had separate rooms and there were two full bathrooms on that floor. These were real bathrooms with a sink, toilet, a big clawfoot tub with hot/cold taps( I eyed those enviously). I was in the servant's quarters, no doubt about it. Several of them were just getting up, having been up most of the night. I didn't ask for any explanation and Alice didn't know what to say either. She ended up taking up all the dirty clothes they were dragging out from everywhere while Mrs. O'Miley showed me where the various cleaning supplies were.

I was kind of glad Mrs. O'Miley was a micromanaging type because I was unfamiliar with the cleaning products they were using. The wood all had to be waxed as in WAXED with real beeswax and rubbed. This wasn't some spray and wipe stuff. As she was explaining all this , I looked around me askance at all this wood, wondering if I'd spend the rest of my life dusting and waxing this furniture. After giving me another long list of instructions, she stomped her way back to the brick house to get dinner ready for these women who were meandering their way over to eat.

I was working my way through the second floor with my duster, wax and rags, just working on the furniture. Apparently, I'd get to have fun doing the floors in a couple days. I couldn't wait. By the time I had gotten back up to the top floor, I'll admit I was dragging a bit. I don't consider myself to be a lazy or slovenly person by any means. My gran always taught us to keep busy and Jason and I both embodied that. But, it was amazing to me how much work I had done since just arriving what? Yesterday?

Carefully, I removed the sconce glass shades and wiped them down before putting them back on their bases. I was working my way down the hallway towards Eric's sitting room, when I realized I heard another man's voice. He was speaking German? It wasn't Eric or Bill, but I thought I recognized the voice. Another vampire I knew maybe?

I was so tired, from all the work, not getting much sleep the past few days? Weeks? All this time travel nonsense, and dealing with unfamiliar people and places. I just wanted to rest. I still heard the strange man's voice as I crouched down, waxing a bench that sat in the hallway outside Eric's door.

Suddenly, I realized I recognized the voice. I had heard it while watching films during history class in high school and while watching the History channel.

It was the voice of Adolf Hitler.

I froze, trying to grasp why I was hearing the voice of a man responsible for the murder of so many people coming from Eric's sitting room. This was before World War II, so he was still alive of course. While I hovered down at the floor, trying to figure that out, the door flew open. Malcolm's tall figure loomed above me.

"Well, hello there" , he said, his dark eyes peering at me like a bird of prey. "What are you doing on the floor next to this door?" He obviously thought I was spying.

"I'm cleaning this bench", I explained, holding up my rag and little tin of wax.

"She's cleaning Malcolm. Let her do her work", Eric said impatiently. Malcolm stood aside, so I could stand up and get through the doorway without touching him. His presence made my arm hairs stand up and I was so glad Eric was there to keep him under control. Malcolm was dangerous when he was bored, especially to any helpless humans.

Glancing around the room quickly, I started my work. Malcolm went back to lounging on a sofa with a magazine he was reading. Eric and Bill were still seated at the table, with much of the mail now opened and scattered around them. Adolf's voice turned out to be coming from a phonograph player in the corner. I was relieved to not have a run in with Hitler, since I have no idea what I would have done. I had no idea he'd released records of his speechs. Records that could be shipped all over the world, so I guess he and Bubba had something in common. I had a feeling Bubba's were better, thank you very much.

It was odd to think of Eric listening to them though. We'd never really discussed stuff like this. It hadn't occurred to me that Eric might hold these type of views. Then Bill said something that derailed that idea.

"Is he saying what I think he's saying?" Bill asked. Eric was studying a newspaper that must have been in one of the packages. It wasn't one of the ones that I had seen. Then he glanced at Pam's letter, while seeming to ponder Bill's question. "Eric?"

"Yes, I believe he is", Eric answered. " I think Pam may be coming back to America sooner than expected."

"It's just talk", Malcolm sneered from his perch on the sofa.

"Most major events start with just talk", Eric said. He waved a newspaper that was foreign. I couldn't read the headline from my vantage point across the room, where I was dusting a bookcase. "There's things going on, not just there…other places. I've seen this before. Yes, I'll warn her that her fun in Paris may only last another year or so. I'll want her back here with me."

"She won't like it. She loves Paris", Malcolm laughed.

"She'll deal with it", Eric said firmly, his mind was already made up, I could tell. To anyone listening to this exchange, Eric sounded like a concerned older brother, looking out for his sister. It was both gratifying and saddening that Pam had no control or right to make up her own mind on this. Eric was her Maker. If he asked her to come back and she refused, he would just Call her and she'd have to come back, whether she wanted to or not. But at the same time, since I knew what was coming, I was glad that Eric was looking out for her even though she was living on the other side of the world.

"Didn't she send you some music too? You can listen to this later", Bill said, obviously having had enough of Herr Hitler's malarkey.

At Eric's nod, Bill changed the record. Now some woman's voice singing in French of course, came out of the player. Moody horns played behind her as she passionately sang about love or lost love I'm sure. What else would a French singer sing about?

I was almost done dusting the room, having decided I wasn't venturing into Eric's bedroom if I could help it.

Bill spoke up again, "Eric?"

"Yes?"

Suddenly, Bill switched to French. I shouldn't have been surprised that he could speak a foreign language, but I was concerned about WHY. He didn't want me knowing what they were talking about and Malcolm was looking way too interested from his lounging point.

Eric listened to him for a couple of minutes, then seemed to silently communicate something with Bill. There was a blur next to me and Bill was there, staring into my eyes, with his glamour pushing into my head. I tried not to panic about what was about to happen in this room with three vampires and little ole me all by my lonesome.

"You really have a nice touch with your trance there Bill", Malcolm complimented warmly. Trance must be the current vampire world for glamour. I'd have to remember that.

Adopting the typical blank expression of a glamoured human, I followed Bill back to the table and sat down in the chair he pushed me into.

"I want her to be mine", Bill declared. Boy, this had a familiar ring.

"You may have her if you wish. Are you sure?" Eric asked, his eyebrows raising in question. Bill looked at him as if to say "what's wrong with her?" "That dress she was wearing and her desire to work for lower wages at menial work…I assumed she belonged to one of those new Christian cults", Eric said.

"The sex will be awful", Malcolm snickered. Malcolm was an idiot.

"I'm assuming neither Malcolm nor Victor wants her?"Eric asked. I was beginning to get the impression that Bill was the baby in this group.

Malcolm snickered even louder, "We found some lovely boys. I have no need for some low class female with ugly hair". My first thought was, thank god Malcolm was born gay and my second thought was to be offended about his comment on my hair. It wasn't my fault I hadn't been able to wash it for days.

"Victor hasn't made any comments or requests", Bill said carefully avoiding the question of Victor's desires. It was now obvious that this Victor was a vampire and I wondered if it was the one that I knew. "I was assuming that you wouldn't want her since you have some new girls who would be happy to lie with you." Bill studied Eric closely. If Eric wanted me, it was game over since he was the head honcho. Or Bill would have to share me. Sharing isn't a Bill trait. He's an all or nothing kind of guy.

"She's pretty", Eric admitted.(At least someone could see past the greasy hair) "But I'll be too busy with the racing season and the new girls will keep me entertained for now. I really won't have time to deal with a religious fanatic. Another time, I'd find the challenge fun, but there's too much to do. You may claim her. "

"Thank you Eric", Bill said, looking like Santa had just granted all his Christmas wishes.

"Oh Billy", Malcolm teased, patting Bill's head as he waltzed out of the room. It was the height of hilarity that Bill got to claim the religious cult member with the greasy hair, apparently. Well, screw him.

The door wasn't shut two seconds, when Eric said, " I'm going to taste her".

"What? You said I could have her. " Bill's shocked expression spoke volumes.

"I'm not taking her away from you Bill…"

"Then why?" Even to my ears Bill was being a bit of a baby about this and I was the one about to be bitten.

"BILL" Eric's voice dropped into Serious Sheriff mode, or what would be his sheriff mode once he was one. "When I took you in after that crazy Maker of yours kicked you out…."

"She didn't kick me out. I wanted to leave", Bill insisted.

"Whatever the case may be, she put you out with no funds or any means to supply them and I offered to help you by taking you into my employ. This has worked out well for both of us, so far, yes?"

"Yes", Bill replied, a little sullenly. It was like watching a teenager being lectured by a parent.

"I've been fair and I havn't gone back on any of our agreements have I?'

"No"

"Then stop acting like an idiot. I said you can claim her but I will be tasting her, end of story. Now pick a spot or I'll pick it myself. "

"I fed from her last night", Bill warned.

"I won't be feeding, I'm just going to drink a little. There's something odd about her."

Damn, I was doomed to be ratted out by Eric's blood every time. I just couldn't catch a break.

Bill hemmed and hawed about the location. I knew he would have preferred Eric feed on my wrist, but there would be a good chance I'd notice it. Bill had already bitten my neck and fed heavily the night before. That left thigh, but Bill didn't want Eric down there of course.

Eric had enough of Bill's procrastination, "Pull her dress up".

Bill was SO not happy about this development, but there wasn't squat he could do about it. He followed Eric's directions, pulling up my dress, then releasing my garter so he could pull the stocking down a little. I was a little calmer about being fed on this time since I knew Eric wouldn't take much, but I was worried about the outcome.

Reminding myself that glamoured people didn't blush, I focused on the fireplace mantle as Eric hunkered down between my legs. Bill's fangs came down as he hunched down next to Eric, monitoring the action closely. Since I was in the chair, Eric simply slung my leg over his upper arm and bit down. It was over in a few seconds thank goodness. I don't think I could have stood it. He pulled back with a thoughtful expression, which always scares me. Bill was excited by my blood on Eric's mouth. He leaned forward and started licking at the smeared blood. Eric held his head still, so Bill could get all of it. Then he leaned forward again and pointed at my thigh.

"Bill, look at this".

He had noticed the other recent bite mark on my inner thigh; the one that he himself had made.

TBC

_A/N Once again , thanks to all of you who have been patiently waiting for this update. The writing is going pretty well, but with my time constraints ..well...Real Life always demands to be first doesn't it? This section is a bit complicated and i'm trying not to write myself into a corner. _


	14. Chapter 14

_A/N Charlaine Harris owns this world and these vampires and Sookie. She does not however, own the town this chapter takes place in, so there. _

_I have no beta and I'm sure I made some boo boos, sorry!_

_Thanks so much for your patience! The good news is that this is the longest chapter I've ever written, over 15,100 words! So you have a nice long chapter to enjoy. _

_All the historical tidbits with books,movies is all accurate for the year this takes place. _

_RECAP:_

_ Sookie is working for Eric and his bootlegging vampire group in Havre de Grace Maryland. Bill, who is the baby vampire in this group, has asked Eric for permission to claim her as his human. Eric has said yes, but his "spidey sense" is going off from his blood that Sookie carries. He's taken an experimental sip from Sookie's leg over a disgruntled Bill's objections. Now, he's noticed the fang marks left on her leg from his bite almost 70 years prior in real time, but approximately a week for Sookie. Here we go! _

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It wouldn't be so bad being glamoured all the time if I could just get some sleep. That would be fine. But no, there had to be something nerve wracking and scary going on every time I was faking being glamoured. And frankly, it was getting old. Between working my butt off, getting accused of being a "lollygagger", worrying about all the other humans here, and trying not to slip up and let the vampires know that I knew what they were…well…I needed a vacation. Not a 'take time off work because I'm injured again" type vacation, but a real one. You know, the kind where you get to sit in a lounge chair holding a drink with a little umbrella in it.

I was sprawled out in the chair, my legs spread and one leg hanging over Eric's shoulder. On the bright side(there's always a bright side my Gran used to say), at least I had real modern day panties on, even if they were granny style ones. Eric and Bill were both staring at my inner thigh like it held one of the great mysteries of the ancient world. Bill's lips were puckered like he'd eaten a lemon.

"Anyone we know?" Bill asked.

Eric cocked his head to one side like it would help him think. "It's several days, maybe a week or so old." That was about right, give or take a hundred years or so. "It's definitely not Malcolm or Victor."

Bill's brow creased a little, "You know…it kind of looks like ….you." He gazed at Eric with a "Do you have something to tell me?" sort of look.

Eric rolled his eyes. "Don't be absurd. You found her in Baltimore and I haven't had time to go there for days. I've been feeding on the house girls and the workmen", He said impatiently, then paused. "But you're right…it matches my bite next to it…and there's something else….." His eyes almost looked angry. Eric didn't like mysteries, especially ones that could spell danger for him.

He sat back while Bill busied himself reattaching my garter to my stocking, closing my legs, and pulling my skirt back down…..typical Bill. "So probably one of the vampires in Baltimore has a similar bite, it's an odd coincidence to be sure. Why? What else? " Bill asked, while he was smoothing my skirt.

"Did you notice anything when you were feeding on her?" Eric asked thoughtfully. His blue eyes kept studying me, like I was a figment of a dream he couldn't remember after waking up.

"She has a lovely scent. Her blood is delicious", Bill replied, his dark voice getting husky.

"Besides that", Eric said.

"She feels good", Bill admitted.

That got Eric's attention. "Explain", he demanded.

"I just…feel comfortable with her. It's not like other humans, where I feel apart from them. With her, I feel like we connect. It's like I can understand and feel her as a part of me." Bill stopped, glancing at Eric like he thought he'd tease him about his explanation.

"Have you ever given a human your blood?"

"No"

Eric gave him a skeptical look," Never?"

"My Maker made me share blood with her frequently. I've had enough of being chained to another's emotions swamping my own. I prefer feeling just my own thoughts and emotions and I have no desire to change that any time soon. Why? What is your concern? She seems harmless enough." I could have told Bill that depends on who you ask.

Eric sat on the floor, with the flickering fire lighting him from behind. He had one knee bent, his chin was resting on it. Just from the expression on his face, I knew he wasn't going to answer Bill's question, and I was right.

"She's different, but you're probably right about her being harmless. If you notice anything else strange about her, let me know", Eric advised, as he gracefully stood up to his full height and stretched. "We need to get going. There's work to be done. The Bayou will need a very large shipment by tomorrow to get ready for the weekend and I promised the negros at The Ordinary an additional shipment".

"The Roger's House will be offended that you didn't sell the additional shipment to them", Bill warned.

"Then they should learn to pay their bills on time with less whining", Eric sneered. That's my Eric, the capitalist with a capital C. The only color he cared about was green. "They've delayed paying twice and I've had enough. From now on they need to pay in advance or they can find their product elsewhere. "

"Were our associates in Baltimore satisfied with our tribute?"

"Victor says they are for the moment. I assume they'll wait and see how well racing season goes, then they'll try to hit us up for some more. Damn Cossack, I had to deal with him in the Old World. He was one of those who told me not to come to America, that our kind didn't belong here. Now he's settled here too, and I'd be willing to bet it's just to annoy me." Eric scowled, then looked thoughtful again. "Are there any signs that they noticed we poached off their territory?"

"Victor says no."

"Victor says no," Eric repeated slowly, and there was a significant subtext hidden under that statement.

Bill simply nodded, and he pulled me up out of the chair, which was a shame because I was getting nice and comfy next to the fire. He straightened my dress and smoothed my greasy hair. Dark eyes stared into mine and I felt the familiar pressure of his glamour, excuse me, his trance pushing into my mind. He told me that I had been cleaning this whole time and wouldn't recall anything that had happened in the previous 20 minutes or so. My cleaning rag, duster, and little tin of wax was pressed into my hands and he gently pushed me towards the bookcase. I went back to dusting like nothing had ever happened.

Eric went into the next room with some of his papers, he came back empty handed. He locked some forms into the big desk next to the bedroom door and he left, telling Bill he would be down at the cannery discussing some things with the foreman down there. I noticed he had the tinted glasses on when he left.

The French lady had stopped singing and the needle had hit the end of the record. Bill turned the player off and there was quiet for a minute as I finished wiping the bookcase. Then RINGGGGG! , which made me jump a little. I wasn't used to these old phones. They were really loud. Bill walked over to Eric's desk and picked up.

"Hello? Yes, I'll send her right over. She's done the second floor I believe and most of Mr. Blue's quarters. She'll need to come back to finish my room. It needs dusting I'm afraid. She'll be over in a minute…..of course..you're welcome. Goodbye." He turned towards me,"Mrs. O'Miley needs your assistance, then you'll need to come back here to finish this floor. My room is across the hall. I'll leave it unlocked for you. "

"Thank you Mr. Co…Crumpton….I'll come back over to finish once I'm done with Mrs. O'Miley (working my fingers to the bone). " He nodded and I hustled out of there. As I made my way back towards what I thought of as the "main" house, I pondered what I had heard. It sounded like there were vampires in Baltimore making Eric pay them some sort of "stay away" money. Given how much bigger Baltimore was than this town, I had to assume the vampire group was larger and more powerful than Eric's. I thought that the vampire hierarchy with the Kings/Queens had been in place by now, but I could be mistaken. But even so, maybe it didn't operate the way it does now.

And Eric's reference to "poaching", maybe he meant us…meaning we humans?" That would explain why the vampires kind of abandoned us before the rail yard. Vampires are extremely territorial and they always know if another vampire has entered their turf unless that vampire is taking care to avoid them.

I was a bit nervous about going back to clean Bill's room. Now that he had declared me "his", I wondered if he would be well…wanting…certain things…besides blood that is. What if he glamoured me to do something? What would I do?

I pushed the rising panic down as I waved to poor Alice at the washing machine, working on the women's clothes. After going to see Mrs. O'Miley, it turned out she had called me back to help Alice. So we worked on the clothes and hung them out to dry just like the night before. Both of us ran to get the outfits we had worn the day before and added them to the wash. I was happy to be able to finally wash my borrowed clothing. The reenactors dress and petticoats seemed to come out pretty well, although it was hard to tell in the dark. I could pick out of Alice's head that she was dying to ask me about my clothes and what it meant, but she was too polite. This was just as well, since I would have hated to make up anymore lies for her.

Then we went back into the kitchen and cleaned up the dishes from the women's dinner and made what felt like a hundred sandwiches for the next day. I got the impression that Mrs. O'Miley was trying to "get ahead" with regards to the food prep, so we wouldn't be making meals at the last minute. The new fridges had been delivered and were all shiny white with gray trim, humming away in the corner. Alice had excitedly shown them to me when I stepped back in. The milk and other items that had been in the icebox had already been moved, so we put the sandwiches in a box and slid them into the other one.

Then Mrs. O'Miley surprised me by saying, " Once you've finished with this, you can get yourselves cleaned up and get ready for bed. The two of you are a mess and it doesn't reflect well on Mr. Blue. Get your hair cleaned up and looking respectable. Sookie you still need to go back and finish Mr. Crumpton's room."

"Yes ma'am", Alice and I answered together. I was going to wash my hair! Oh happy day! Mrs. O'Miley went back to her mending down the hall, so Alice and I discussed our bathing strategy. Since I would be delayed, she would bathe and get her hair washed. Hers was so short, she could easily wash it herself. My hair was too long to do in our little sink, so she said she'd help me do it in the kitchen sink. She also offered to heat up some water so my bath would be somewhat warm. Alice deserved to be nominated for sainthood, I swear.

Once we finished wrapping the sandwiches in wax paper, I grabbed my little bundle of rags and furniture wax and trotted back towards the house of iniquity in a much better mood. I was going to wash my hair. I was going to wash my hair! I kept thinking this to myself and there was a definite skip to my step. Being the hired help, I went in the back door as before. I could hear laughing in the main sitting room and glasses clinking, so I was grateful for the back servant's staircase. I climbed the stairs, hurrying past the second floor and was breathless by the time I got to my destination, the third floor.

It was comparatively quiet, the hallway had the same soft glow and the carpet muffled my footsteps. I crept down the hall, listening for any male voices that would signal a vampire's approach, but heard nothing. I felt with my other sense and there was nothing, no humans (besides the ones downstairs having a jolly good time) and the only vampire void was downstairs with the humans, so he was occupied. It was such a pleasant relief being able to have some quiet time to myself.

Bill's door was unlocked as promised and his room was what I expected. Everything was the same heavy woods, with a relaxing green fern wallpaper, and those Tiffany style lamps. A wardrobe hung open and his clothes were inside. The bed was made and neat as a pin, I assume because Bill never used it. I wondered where his hidey hole was. A door led to a private bathroom. I'll bet Eric had one too on the other side of the hallway. Calculating my location, I figured that this bathroom was right above the one on the second floor which made sense. There was loads of black/white tile, a sink, toilet, and (surprise!) a big tub, with hot/cold taps of course. The bathroom was neat. Bill is not a messy person. And unlike Eric, who I think has never hung a towel on a rod in his entire undead existence, Bill's towels were draped neatly over their respective rods. I was surprised to see a shaving mug sitting on the sink, with a brush floating in foamy water. A nearby shelf housed a toothbrush and a tin of teeth cleaning powder. Vampires don't need these things, but to hold up the façade of being human, they had to pretend to. There was also some bathing salts, soap and other wonderful bathing items that made me green with envy.

With a heavy sigh, I trudged back into the bedroom. I started doing what I was supposed to be doing, waxing and dusting furniture. Once I made my way to his desk, which was against a wall, I noticed a film projector sitting on it. It had a metal spool with film loaded onto it and it was pointed towards the only wall in the room with nothing hanging on it, which was above Bill's bed. Trying not to be icked out by this, I waxed the individual desk drawers and then the top. It was one of those desks with a back piece and little drawers that held paper, envelopes, stamps and the like.

There was a good sized stack of brand new magazines and books. Boy, Bill was a serious reader. Curious, I wanted a peek, but took a second to scan the floor again. Nothing on this floor, and the vampire in the house was still downstairs making nice with the clients. There were a few magazines I was familiar with like Time, Life, Harper's Bazaar, and a few I wasn't like Science and Mechanics, Dragnet, Weird Tales, and Amazing Stories which appeared to be science fiction. The cover was in color with space ships battling it out above the Earth.

The books were interesting; an Agatha Christie mystery, a Tarzan book, a science book by HG Wells, another science fiction book called The Exile of Time by Ray Cummings. It had a picture on the front of a young woman with a robot holding her prisoner. She appeared in modern day New York claiming to have been kidnapped from the year 1777 and forced to travel through time. Normally, I'm not into reading Scifi but that sounded interesting. I wanted to know what happened to this girl. Maybe I could ask Bill to loan me one of his books to read on my day off. There were a few philosophy books that looked too deep for me. A couple history books, one caught my eye, History of the Conquest of Mexico and History of the Conquest of Peru by William H Prescott, well, well, that explained Bill's later trip. Then I noticed a book that I had read when I was twelve, The Mystery of Shadow Ranch by Carolyn Keene. It was part of the Nancy Drew series. Bill reads Nancy Drew! I sniggered, holding my hand against my mouth to muffle any noise. I wondered if he read the Hardy Boys too.

Well, this was consistent with what I knew about Bill already. He liked science fiction, although I shouldn't have been surprised that he got interested in it from reading first. He was curious about the world and liked learning how things worked. Unlike a lot of vampires, he wasn't afraid of new technology. And he liked mysteries too. This would explain why he had been such a good investigator for Area 5. Or as Eric had put it, once Bill was their investigator, there weren't many mysteries left to solve, which was the closest thing to a compliment that I'd ever heard Eric throw in Bill's direction.

Carefully I restacked the books, having reasoned that Bill would expect me to touch them so I could wax the desk. As I was finishing up, I glanced at the projector again. What on Earth would 1930's porn look like anyway? The projector looked simple enough to operate. A peek wouldn't hurt would it? I tiptoed back to the open doorway and looked down the hallway, my eyes confirming what my telepathy already knew. There was no one on this floor. All the buzz was happening on the main floor. I would watch for just a minute or two to satisfy my curiosity, that's all.

After examining the projector, I figured out where the on/off toggle switch was. I flicked it and the film started running, making that light clattery noise that projectors used to do. Then, I stopped it and flicked it back. The spool ran in the opposite direction. Okay, that was good. I would watch a little, then rewind so no one would know. So, I flicked it forward again.

The first piece turned out to be a short cartoon (in black and white of course). It consisted of a giant….well…Mr. Happy running around on his own. He came upon a Betty Boop looking girl with a short flirty dress, who seemed delighted to see him. She sat on a big rock, spread her legs real wide, Mr. Happy took a running start and ….oh my. I couldn't decide if this was the stupidest thing I'd ever seen or the funniest. I know that Jason and Hoyt would think it was most hilarious thing ever. The cartoon only lasted 2 minutes. Then it was on to the main show.

A man was driving an old car down a bumpy country road. He came upon two young women. (The plotlines for porn haven't changed much have they?) They needed a ride and he would give them one, for a price. I know movie's had sound by now, but this had those black screens with the dialogue. Well, it's porn, so it didn't really need extensive dialogue. The two women acted shy about getting naked for about 30 seconds, then started stripping off their dresses right there by the side of the road. The man wanted some girl on girl action, so they started hugging and kissing for him. Then he decided he'd get out of the car and get naked too, minus his black stockings with garters, and his shoes.

The performers were all very…ah….natural and perfectly relaxed about it. And they all could have used a little time at the gym. And it was creepy seeing people who looked like pictures I'd seen of my Great Grandparents era doing these things. There was touching, and oral activity, then he bent one of the women over the hood of his car and made like the energizer bunny while the other woman played with herself. This was actually getting boring.

Unfortunately, I was so mesmerized watching this weirdness, that my telepathy took a mini vacation and wasn't paying attention.

I jumped as I suddenly realized there was a void right behind me. The bedroom door clicked shut. I whirled around to find that I was facing the vampire I'd been hearing about.

Victor.

He was dressed like the other men here, but with his typical GQ flair, all pressed and polished. He had his usual snowy white hankerchief sticking out of his jacket's breast pocket. His first words did not bode well.

"It's always intrigued me how the more religious someone is the more perverted they are. I wonder why that is?" he mused, a playful smile on his lips. He strolled over as I stood frozen in place, terrified of what he was going to do. He was my height and stared me in the eyes as he continued," Did you see anything you'd like to try?"

"Ah", I answered, that was about as verbal as I could manage.

"Let's reenact what those performers are doing. Wouldn't that be fun?" He reached for the edge of my apron.

I finally found my voice. "No! I don't want to do any of those things with you. Leave me alone!" I slapped his reaching hand like he was an errant child.

"You religious girls always play hard to get", he smirked, and I was becoming afraid. I pushed at him, which didn't do anything of course since he's a vampire and much stronger than me. He gripped my shoulder tightly and pulled me towards him, twisting me around, and I could feel his "trance" pushing into my head. What was I going to do? If I didn't fake being glamoured, he'd tell Eric and Eric would kill me or more likely have me killed, I just knew it. But if I pretended to be glamoured, I'd have to ….

I was saved from this decision by another presence in the room.

Another set of hands landed on top of Victor's, familiar hands that had held me,comforted me, pleasured me and hurt me too.

Victor was caught off guard by Bill's sudden attack. He'd been spun off of me a bit , but he was reorganizing himself and straightening his perfect little suit to hide his embarrassment. At least, he was acting like he was.

"Bill, what a surprise! Is there a problem?" he asked with a perfectly innocent expression, like he'd been selling Bibles and Girl Scout cookies all night.

"She's mine."Bill declared. He carefully cradled me with his long arms wrapped around my shoulders. He was holding me like a child holds their favorite toy so no one will snatch it from them.

"Says who?" Victor asked.

"Eric gave me permission to claim her", Bill responded.

"Really?" Victor answered, acting as surprised as if Eric had told Bill he could buy the Brooklyn Bridge with Eric's money. "That's funny, no one told me."

"I'll tell you what's funny", Malcolm's voice interjected, as he suddenly appeared leaning in the doorway with his arms crossed over his shiny gray suit. Just what I needed, another vampire in the middle of this mess. Now if Eric showed up, we'd have ourselves a party. "What's funny is that Eric told ME that he told YOU, that he'd said Bill could claim this human. It's odd you don't remember this." Malcolm's mouth smiled slightly feigning amusement while his dark eyes squinted dangerously. I remembered that Bill said Malcolm was very old, although I had always assumed he wasn't as old as Eric. It looked like Malcolm was going to have Bill's back, well it was nice to know he was good for something.

"Well, Eric can be forgetful sometimes", Victor said lightly. Yeah right, and my Gran used to just "forget" to go to church on Sunday…..NOT.

Malcolm and Bill both gave each other a look that pretty much matched my opinion of what Victor had just said. Their silence spoke volumes. Victor pretended this silence meant agreement. "And anyway, no one asked ME", he complained. "That's hardly fair is it?"

"Are you saying you want her?" Bill asked, keeping his voice level.

"And what if I did?" Victor asked, raising his eyebrow, trying to look only mildly curious.

There was a pause, while Bill pondered the question. Please be my possessive pain in the ass Bill, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE.

"I'll call you out", Bill answered, his dark voice dropping low and threatening. The reaction was priceless. Victor's mouth dropped open and Malcolm's face lit up like a Christmas tree. I think booze running wasn't very interesting for Malcolm , especially if Eric was making him abide by all sorts of rules, which I'm sure he was. This was going to be the highlight of Malcolm's week.

"You're joking!"Victor exclaimed, once he found his voice. "You'd fight me over this greasy, little religious fanatic? I'm older than you, in case you've forgotten."

"Your point being?" Bill responded with an icy tone. Malcolm had a smile a mile wide as he looked back and forth between the two arguing vampires. Bill pushed a little harder, "Let's go outside. We'll do this right now." Wow, if this was a bluff on Bill's part, it was a darn good one. Go Bill.

"I don't think Eric would be pleased about our fighting do you?" Victor asked. Oh yeah, NOW he cared about what Eric had to say. He was going to back down, I could smell it.

Bill shrugged, like he couldn't care less what Eric thought.

"You know, I would be perfectly willing to share. I'm not greedy", Victor said, acting like he was doing Bill a favor.

Malcolm snickered back in the doorway. I was tempted to join him. The odds were better for winning the Powerball lottery than for Bill willingly sharing me, especially after challenging Victor. Victor was trying to save face.

Bill just stared at Victor and said nothing. The temperature in the room went down a couple more degrees. There was the soft "bong, bong,bong" of a clock out in the hallway.

"Whoops! I didn't realize how late it was. I need to take care of a few things. We'll have to speak about this another time Bill", Victor chattered, like he and Bill had been discussing the weather. Victor slid past the smiling Malcolm on his way out. I wanted to let my knees buckle with relief, but that would alert the vampires that I wasn't in a "trance".

Bill carefully plopped me down in the desk chair, as Malcolm laughed some more," He's such a charmingly, sneaky little bastard isn't he?"

"Yes", Bill answered coolly, as if nothing had happened.

Malcolm strode forward and peered closely at the flickering image from the projector. "This is a really boring movie Bill! Eric wasted his money. I don't want to watch humans humping each other." I should mention that the movie had kept running during this entire vampire standoff here in Bill's room of geekdom and porn.

"Malcolm", Bill said, sounding overly patient. "I've told you this before. The first half of the film is the human movie that we show the customers, so they'll be ready for the girls and quick. I have to cut the film and splice it a bit for the vampire part which is hidden after the credits on the human movie."

"Oh yes! Now I remember. When are you going to do that? Can we watch it now?"Malcolm asked eagerly. He was still all revved up after observing the almost showdown.

Oh, I most certainly did not want to be around for that. As curious as I was to see what vampire porn looked like, I'm sure it would give me nightmares for months. Not to mention, it might give Bill and Malcolm ideas with me in the room and I needed to get back to the main house so I could wash my damn hair and get to bed. I was tired and I wanted sleep more than anything right now.

Geez, I hoped Bill wasn't going to break into our room and feed on us again. Hopefully, he'd find someone else tonight. It was odd, thinking this way. When we'd been dating, I was beside myself with jealousy at the thought of him sticking his fangs into anyone else, male or female. Now, I comprehended that he was just …you know…EATING..and even though he definitely enjoyed his meals, that's really all it was for him. I refocused back on Malcolm and Bill's conversation.

"I really just don't have the time tonight. I only set it up, so I could find my splicing point and work on it later. It'll be ready by the weekend, when all the out of towners start pouring in for the opening call on Monday afternoon. " Bill explained. He flicked the toggle switch on the projector , fussing with it a bit.

"Oh, come now Bill!"Malcolm urged.

"No, I'm too busy. Watch it yourself if you'd like". Bill was rifling through some papers in one of the desk drawers now.

Malcolm eyed the projector suspiciously, he may have enjoyed watching the films, but like a lot of older vampires; he didn't like actually having to deal with technology himself. Then he changed the subject. "So, what do you think of your pet human watching this little movie? Maybe she's not as virtuous as she appears, eh?" He shifted his dark gaze from the projector to me.

"The projector was here, she was probably curious and she had no way of knowing what was on it", Bill replied, quite reasonably I might add. "And I'm going to wipe that memory anyway. I don't want her to remember this, since I'm going to ask her to attend the cinema with me tomorrow night".

"Why?"

"Because I like her and I want to spend time with her", Bill replied.

"If you want to have sex with her, why wait? Just do it now. I could watch", Malcolm, smiled with his fangs fully extended. Oh gack.

"I'd like to get to know her a little before becoming intimate with her. I want her to be willing and to remember it …mostly. And no, you may not watch this time. This isn't an orgy."

"Oh Bill, I promise not to bite your greasy little pet", Malcolm said playfully. This "greasy" critique was starting to get on my nerves. I'd like to see how Malcolm's hair looked after traveling through time, tromping through woods with Vikings, and not being washed.

"No", Bill answered firmly. He was starting to sound a little exasperated.

Becoming more serious, Malcolm added,"You know that getting romantically involved with humans is a lost cause. Why set yourself up for all that trouble? Just enjoy her body and her blood and be done with it. There's always another human. After all, they breed more of them every day." He laughed at his little joke.

"Thank you for the advice", Bill responded, not sounding thankful at all. "Now, I need to get to the garage and help Gerald's man with the transport car and she needs to get back to the main house. She looks tired and probably needs a good night's sleep." Well, it was nice that someone noticed.

Me, Bill and our good buddy Malcolm marched back down the servants stairs. Malcolm got off on the 2nd floor. I could hear him talking to Victor, who seemed to be in charge of the "entertainment" on that floor. Bill had already "glamoured" my memory again. It was a good thing I couldn't be glamoured for real, otherwise I'd probably start becoming goofy like some of the overly eager fangbangers were. They spent too much time around vampires and had been glamoured one too many times. It wasn't good for anyone's brain to do that.

Bill walked me all the way back to the main house. The kitchen was dark, so we went further and found the other women listening to the radio, mending clothing. As soon as we walked in the door, I could tell that Mrs. O'Miley had a lollygagging speech all ready for me.

Bill took off his hat and launched into his own little spiel."I apologize for her lateness. It was my fault. She had a bit of work to do. I'm afraid I've let my room go a bit, what with being so busy and all", he said. Mrs. O'Miley was all ready for bed, with a robe and a sleeping cap on her head. Alice was sitting with her, darning socks it looked like. She was freshly washed and her short bob was still wet. She pulled her robe around her tightly and appeared embarrassed once she realized Bill was with me.

Mrs. O'Miley was polite to Bill and of course it was no trouble at all she said. I had to fight the impulse to roll my eyes a bit. If I had been by myself, she would have been all over me about taking so long. Then Bill waved his fingers at her, calling her back into the kitchen. She thumped after Bill, leaving Alice and I in what I thought of as the ironing room.

"That's so nice of him to let Mrs. O'Miley know he kept you late, so you wouldn't get into any trouble," Alice said, as she finished breaking thread on a sock she was mending.

"Yeah, I'm glad he did," I shrugged. "Given how she is and all that ….." Alice giggled softly in agreement.

"Do you want me to help you with your hair?" she asked.

"Oh yes, please!" I said. "It'll be so nice to have it clean. I hate it being like this."

"Okay, let me run and get the things we need", she said as she left the room. I could hear her footsteps going up the stairs.

Since I was alone in the room, I went to the radio and fiddled with the control a little. It switched from a news program to a musical one. A smooth woman's voice drifted from the radio's speaker. She was singing about her man leaving her. Their love had felt so perfect, she had waited for him so long, then it was all destroyed when he left. And now she had nothing. Sing it to me sister.

There was a void right behind me.

I whirled around, going into a defensive crouch. It was just Bill. He looked even more startled than I did as he held his hands out in a nonthreatening manner.

"I am terribly sorry. I didn't mean to startle you Miss Norris," he said.

I held my hand to my chest, trying to slow the beating. This being on edge all the time was getting old. "I'm fine, Mr. Crumpton. What do you need?" I asked, a trifle unsteadily. "Where's Mrs. O'Miley?"

"She has decided to retire," he explained. "I need to ask you something."

"Shoot," I urged. His face had a blank expression, then I realized my mistake. "Go ahead, ask. "

" I was wondering if you would attend the picture show with me tomorrow night?"

Even though I should have been prepared, since I had heard him tell Malcolm about this, it was still a little odd. Bill asking me on a date? Even though I was grateful (kind of ) that he had claimed me and refused to loan me out to Victor like a backhoe; I was going to squirm out of this if I could. I averted my eyes a little by pretending to sort through the clothes that still needed mending. This would avoid me having to play the "glamour" game with Bill. I chose the easiest answer, " I don't think Mrs. O'Miley would allow that. She always has lots of work for us to do."

"I've spoken with her. She's willing to accommodate my request as long as you're not gone too long." Well of course she did. Bill was probably glamouring her in the kitchen, so she'd agree to his request. It was time to go to plan B.

"I can't leave Alice alone to do all the work. That wouldn't be fair," I explained firmly, while I pretended to check the seam on a pair of work pants.

"She can come too, then," Bill said easily. Well, crap, he just had an answer to everything didn't he?

"Oh, I don't know," I muttered, trying to buy a moment to think.

"Miss Norris, is there a problem? Have I offended you in some way? Do you not like me?" His voice carried a plaintive quality now. He was going for the guilt card.

It would have been fun to just tell him off, but I couldn't do that. I had to get along with everyone here and technically Bill was one of the people I was working for. Not to mention, if Bill thought I just didn't like him at all, he might be tempted to just throw me at Victor with a "here, you can have her". Then Victor would glamour me to do the things those actors had been doing in that porn film. That would be intolerable.

It just occurred to me that with Bill, I at least had some sort of advantage. After all, I knew what his secret was, but he didn't know mine. And here in this time period, I knew him better than he knew me, which was a nice switch. Our relationship had always had a lopsided quality to it, with me coming out on the short end of the stick. This time, I was the one with the knowledge. This time, I could be the one manipulating the situation. A tiny feeling of power rushed into my breast(a teensy bit evil of me I know, but can you blame me?) It was time to make Bill jump a few hoops.

"Honestly, Mr. Crumpton, I do have a problem with you," I answered wearily, like I was tired of even talking with him.

"There was a shocked silence behind me. It was hard not to smile.

"Could you please enlighten me? Perhaps there's something I can do?"

"I'm just not sure what to think of people who take advantage of children, " I explained slowly. "Having a boy who is trying to help support his family, work with no wages and is running aound in rags. Wouldn't you agree that it reflects badly on Mr. Blue? That's just wrong to me and that's not the sort of man I would want to spend time with."

"I see, well I can speak to Mr. Blue about wages, but that may be difficult since the boy did agree to work for tips alone. And we are providing a place to sleep and meals. The clothing I can do something about…here…." His hand lightly touched my arm, tugging gently. I turned a little, without looking up at his eyes directly, so he wouldn't be tempted to glamour me. His hand was holding out a ten dollar bill. "Take this and buy him some clothes and a pair of shoes tomorrow. You don't need to pay me back. "

I wasn't sure if ten dollars was going to cut it since I had no idea how much children's clothing cost. I had been looking at the food prices after all. But I said the correct thing," Thank you , I'm sure Sammy will appreciate it."

Just then, Alice came back into the room, carrying stuff to use on my hair I assume. "Oh! Mr. Crumpton, I didn't realize you were still here! "she exclaimed, still a little embarrassed at Bill seeing her in her bathrobe, and her hair still damp. I wondered how embarrassed she'd be if she knew he'd been lying on top of her the night before with his fangs buried into her neck.

" Alice, perhaps you could do me a great favor?" Bill inquired smoothly.

"Why of course Mr. Crumpton, what can I do for you?" she asked, as she clutched the hair items to her chest.

"I've asked Miss Norris here to allow me to escort the two of you to the picture show tomorrow night for a few hours. I've gotten permission from Mrs. O'Miley, but Miss Norris is being rather reluctant. Perhaps you can assist me in convincing her to attend?" he explained with a smile.

"Oh my, the movies?" she exclaimed, the eagerness evident in her voice. I could pick up from her brain that she'd only been to the movies a few times in her life since money had been so scarce for her family. This would be very exciting for her. Well, great, let's pack my bags for the guilt trip. If I said no, she'd be disappointed. "Sookie?" she looked at me with her big brown eyes begging me. Damn Bill, why did he have to be so nice and invite Alice?

I reconsidered. At least with Alice there, I didn't have to worry about Bill making any amorous moves. It would only be for a few hours. We'd go see a movie, then come back, no big deal.

I sighed, " I guess we can go. It'll be nice to get out for a little while. Where is the …where is it?"

Bill looked pleased, "It's only a few blocks from here. I'll come by and we'll walk over together. I'm sure we'll have a wonderful time. Good night ladies." And with that, he nodded his head, put his fedora back on and left.

Alice waited until we heard the backdoor click shut. "Oh my! He's such a gentleman isn't he?" She gave me a big smile as we walked back into the kitchen so I could finally, FINALLY wash my damn hair. "And he's so generous. What was that money he gave you?" I didn't realize she'd caught that part of the conversation, apparently she'd only heard part of it.

"The money is so I can buy Sammy some decent clothes and a pair of shoes." I said.

"He gave you money to help out the little negro boy? That's so charitable. What a lovely man…." And I had to endure Alice's running complimentary commentary on the wonderfulness of Bill for the next 15 minutes. The only reason I tolerated it was because I was in the middle of the religious experience of having my hair washed thoroughly. It was a shame he wasn't interested in her, because she thought he was the cat's meow. But then, I'd be "fair game" as far as the other vampires went and Eric was too busy and too weirded out to claim me. Malcolm had no interest in someone with my physical attributes, which would leave Victor. Going out with Bill wouldn't be so bad, I guess.

While we were doing my hair, Alice had two big kettles on the stove heating up water. About the time we finished she had some boiling water ready to help heat up my bath water. The bathtub was located in a tiny room on the main floor right above the kitchen, I assume because it had been easier to install the plumbing. Not to mention, it was a cast iron tub and taking it up a staircase would have been pretty dangerous. I only filled the big tub half way so the boiling water added would have more effect. If it had been all hot water, I would have taken a nice leisurely inspirational soak. Instead, I was going to take a perfunctory bath just so I could finally feel clean. At this point, that would be good enough for me.

Soap, clean water, washcloth, towel, and robe…..they seem so minor and yet they can create so much happiness. The water was temperate, but at least not cold. I gritted my teeth and tolerated it. I wished I could brush my teeth. Maybe I would buy a toothbrush and teeth 'cleansing powder' when we got paid. I wondered if my breath had the same funk as some of the other people's I'd run into here. What day were we getting paid anyway? And what was today? Tuesday? Wednesday? My mind was roaming around now that it wasn't distracted by my body's ever growing grunge.

Alice helped me get the detangling process started on my hair, then I shooed her to rest. We were back in our room with the little lamp on and the black stove warming up. She was yawning and stretching out on the bed, drifting off to la la land. I sat on my side of the bed, working on my hair with the comb she'd lent me. My grocery bag was sitting on the floor, partially shoved under, all fat with the Viking's skin wrapped parcel still jammed into it. At this point in my travels, I wasn't even sure what the heck was in there. I would go through it later. There wasn't anything of real value in there after all. It would be safer to do this when I had a couple minutes alone. The wool Viking blanket was folded on the floor. It looked really dirty. I'm sure we'd be doing some laundry tomorrow since that was turning into a daily thing around here. I'd wash it then and hang it up outside. No point in throwing out a perfectly good, abeit slightly rough looking blanket.

The room was warming some more and the coal in the little stove shifted and softly thunked against the inside as it burned. Alice was drifting off and the bed had warmed up too because of her body heat. I snuggled into my pillow, trying to get comfortable. Saying my prayers yielded little in the way of comfort. Other than getting back home safe and sound, I wasn't sure what or who to pray for here. Who knows how all these different people's lives turned out? Would I impact that? Could I? And was that good or bad? I was too tired to allow my brain to hurt like this and I was still a little jumpy wondering if Bill was going to launch in here any second like Batman. It was really tempting to just tell him the truth; that I knew what he was: and by the way, could he just drink his dinner and be on his way so I could get some sleep? The room had been dark for several minutes and it appeared no vampire was coming up here anytime soon, so I heaved a deep sigh and let myself drift off.

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The next day was pretty much like the previous one, except I had to endure Alice talking excitedly about us attending the movies that night and what a great guy Bill was. I could hardly begrudge Alice's excitement over getting to enjoy a little entertainment with the hard life she was leading. And I was grateful that Bill had extended his invitation to us both, but listening to her go on about Bill was riding my nerves. I'm not sure if it was because of my lingering resentment towards him and his misdeeds or because she reminded me of myself when I had first fallen for him. I had thought he was best thing since sliced bread, and I was so happy to have found someone, until it all went down the toilet.

Curious, I allowed myself to listen in to Mrs. O'Miley's thoughts while Alice and I were talking about our little outing. Or more accurately, Alice was talking about it and I was listening and agreeing. She kept bringing up different actors names(apparently famous ones) and I didn't know who any of them were, so I kept my mouth shut. Mrs. O'Miley didn't seem to have suffered any ill effects from Bill's influence. She was her usual grumpy self and just kept reminding us that Bill had agreed that we should have the majority of our work done before going out.

I was nervous about bringing up Sammy to Mrs. O'Miley. She didn't seem to have anything in particular against black people, she just saw them as outside 'regular' people and as long as they remembered their 'place', everything would be fine. Deciding to throw Bill's name around a little would help.

While I was opening what felt like fifty cans of corn (boy was I missing my electric can opener), I spoke up. "Ah, Mrs. O'Miley, I need to let you know something."

She looked over her shoulder from the pot she was stirring on the stove. "What?"

I needed to word this carefully. "Mr. Crumpton gave me a little money to take Sammy into town and buy him some decent, clean clothes. He felt Sammy's current clothing situation reflected badly on Mr. Blue. Once Alice and I have the laundry hung up, could I call him so I can take care of this?"

The expression on Mrs. O'Miley's face was almost comical. She WANTED to say no, but I had said some magic words like Mr. Crumpton, and 'reflects badly on Mr. Blue'. Allowing anything to reflect badly on Eric went against her grain.

The weathered face puckered up, but I knew what she was going to say,"Alright, but no wasting time. And I'll give you a list of a few things we need in town, so you can do those too." It made her feel better to give me tasks to take care of while I was doing this, in her mind, pointless errand.

The Viking blanket cleaned up better than I expected, so I hung it up outside with the rest of the laundry. It looked so out of place with all the modern day clothing and sheets that were made with sewing machines and factory looms. Now that it was washed, the grey color looked lighter and softer than I had imagined. And there were some kind of Viking symbols or decoration around the edges done with a reddish thread. Those Vikings really didn't like leaving their stuff plain.

I waved to Larry the milkman while I finished hanging up laundry. Alice let him in so he could deliver our milk for the day. After he left, I went back inside and asked how to contact Sammy. Mrs. O'Miley told me to call The Ordinary, someone should answer. Eric had mentioned that name the previous night for a delivery. She grumpily told me to go into town and finish my errands. Without further explanation, she headed into the mending room to sit down fixing clothing and listening to her soap operas. Alice followed her down the hall.

While I was pulling off my apron, I picked up the phone receiver and stared at the blank rotary mechanism. It suddenly occurred to me I didn't know how to place the call. She hadn't mentioned a phone number although they seemed to exist. I had seen them displayed in the shop windows and on the sides of trucks the day before. Maybe I could dial an operator? I stuck my finger in the face and rotated it all the way around.

I heard a woman's voice on the other end of the phone say,"Havre de Grace operator, how may I help you?"

"Um, yes…..hi…I need to place a call to a business called the The Ordinary? I'm not sure what the address is"

"Let me connect you." Okay, so she was on the ball.

"Thank you." I couldn't remember if I'd ever spoken to a telephone operator before. Usually I just 'talked' to the phone company's computer voice system.

I heard a ringing, it went on for about five or six rings, then someone picked up. A man's voice answered. "Hello?"

"Hi, I'm trying to reach one of Mr. Blue's employees. He's a little boy called Sammy."

"Let me find him." The phone was set down, and I could hear walking and talking.

Sammy came to the phone breathless, "This is Sammy."

"Hello Sammy, this is Sookie Norris. "

"Hello Miss Norris! I'll be right there if you need me!"

"Yes, if you could come down to the main house please. I'm going into town and I need you to go with me", I said. I would tell him about the clothes once he got here.

"I'll be right there! " The phone's handset was dropped and I could hear his running footsteps.

The man came back, "He's on his way ma'am. He's a good boy, hardworking, does what you tell him. I wish all the people who worked for me were like that!" And he laughed deeply.

I laughed with him and said, "I think he's great too. Thanks for your help. Have a nice day sir."

"You have a good day too ma'am," he replied, sounding surprised for some reason.

I stashed my apron on a hook next to the new Fridgedaires. I got the little fabric purse from Mrs. O'Miley again ,made another list ( a shorter one this time), and got ready to leave. Then Alice, who had disappeared for a couple minutes, came back in with a little brown felt hat, decorated with a darker ribbon and a big button decorating the front.

"You need to wear a hat," Mrs. O'Miley declared, like I had been deliberately not wearing one just to be an annoyance to her.

"Sorry, I don't have one," I explained.

"Well, you can wear this one from the closet. You need gloves too. You look like some migrant worker," she said.

"I don't have gloves and I don't have money to buy any. I don't know what you want me to say," I answered back, maybe a little snippily.

"Make sure you buy some when you get paid," Mrs. O'Miley said. "Are you listening to me?"

It was so hard not to get angry with her about this. I was tired from all the unfamiliar work, missing my home and I was definitely tired of her. But I heard my Gran poking me in the back, reminding me to be polite to my elders, so all I said was ," Yes ma'am. I'll buy gloves when we get paid." She settled her bulk back into her chair and went back to mending the jacket on her lap. So, I guess I was going to add gloves to the toothbrush then. I wondered why they didn't have some gloves in that handy big closet. Or maybe because they were gloves, they got damaged,stained and weren't usable after a while. Whatever.

About this time, Sammy burst in the back door running at full speed and it made me tired just looking at him. Maybe I should get that wagon out and have him pull me in it. But it turned out, we didn't need to do that.

"SAMMY!" Mrs. O'Miley called out. Sammy ran down the hall leaving me and Alice in the kitchen. She had followed me down and was helping me put the hat on correctly once she saw I was having trouble with it.

"I looked in the closet, but I didn't see regular day gloves," she whispered. "Sorry."

"Oh, it's okay. I can live for a few days." I said.

She stepped away and admired her handiwork."Well, Mrs. O'Miley has a point. Going into town on Mr. Blue's behalf without being dressed correctly doesn't look very ladylike. The hat looks good on you Sookie! The brown brings out the blond in your pretty hair."

"Thank you Alice, you're such a great help," I said, meaning every word. She shrugged modestly.

Sammy came running back in, "We're taking the car!" He sped past me and out the patio door with a slam.

"My, he has a lot of energy," Alice said. She was surprised because she'd always heard that negros were lazy. I caught that from her head before I hastily put up my shields. I wasn't sure how long I was going to be here and there were some things I really didn't need to know. I liked Alice and I didn't want to know things about her character like this.

Society hadn't caught up with reality and Alice was a part of that. One of these days they were going to be forced to come to the realization that people of color were human too, hello! But we American's weren't there yet. I hoped Sammy lived long enough to see and benefit from all the changes that were coming. I wondered if he was still alive in my time. As I walked to the garage, I pondered that.

A car horn made me look up. A big swooping black car with sideboards and whitewall tires was in front of me with Sammy in the driver's seat. Oh great, he was going to drive. It wasn't like I could argue since I didn't know how to drive one of these things anyway. I gingerly stepped into the car. The seat springs creaked, and I automatically reached for a seatbelt that wasn't there. Well, we were only going a few blocks. I crossed my fingers as the car jerked a couple times as he shifted with two hands, and off we went.

I sat quietly because I didn't want to distract Sammy while he was driving. He had propped himself up high enough to see over the dashboard by sticking a rolled up tarp on his seat. He sat right up on the edge so he could reach the pedals. I wasn't sure how he was seeing ahead since the hood looked like it was ten feet long from inside the car. I wondered if Eric knew this little kid was driving one of his vehicles. I wondered if this was the vehicle that Eric had been talking about at my Halloween party, the one he'd moved all the booze in. I glanced around at the beautiful chrome, and real wood on the dashboard. The seats were leather and comfortable even though they weren't the bucket type seats I was used to. It was more like sitting on a high bench. The car bounced a bit, whenever it would roll over something. The name Ford in swooping chrome letters was on the dashboard. I think Eric had said he used a Cadillac? I'd imagine the Cadillac was the more expensive of the two. I was glad we were in the humbler (although still beautiful) Ford. I don't know why, but that made me feel better.

We made it into town alive, he parked the car with another jerk on the parking brake and I got out to do my shopping. This time I made a mental note of things I saw that I might need. I didn't want to buy anything major since who knows when I would jump out of here, but I also didn't know when that might happen. The longest I had been anywhere had been with Eric and the Vikings..what a few days? And I didn't know what the rules were with regards to "stuff" going with me, so I could buy items that would end up being left behind anyway.

Once I was done with the errands Mrs. O'Miley had assigned me and we'd loaded the car's back seat, I told Sammy what we were doing next. He was flabberghasted.

"Mr. Crumpton gave you TEN DOLLARS? And I can get clothes and new shoes?" he exclaimed, his mouth open with shock and amazement.

"Since you're representing Mr. Blue, like the rest of us, they want you looking presentable, " I explained. "And you need to take care of these things we're buying," I felt compelled to add, thinking about boys like Coby who would dive into the dirt in a brand new outfit, freaking out Arlene. Then I brought up the part I wasn't sure of, where could I take him to buy these clothes? There were several shops in this town that sold clothing, but there seemed to be some unwritten rules about who was allowed to walk into which shop. Sammy had a solution.

"Mr. Richie told me about a place on Market Street that sells good used clothes, "he said thoughtfully.

"Who is Mr. Richie?"

"He runs The Ordinary…Mr. Washington…but he said I could call him Mr. Richie."

"Oh, well you don't have to buy used, we could get new if you'd like." I didn't want him thinking he HAD to buy used clothing.

"Well, they cost less and we could buy more? And they might have some shoes that are kind of new," he explained, a focused expression on his face. He was trying to maximize our limited funds. Well, I couldn't argue with him there. So we jerked our way out of our parking space and were on our way.

The shop was run out of a black woman's house. She had a homemade sign over the door with "Rosie's" neatly written on it. The first two rooms were packed with clothes hung on wooden rods. Everything looked reasonably clean and in decent condition. It was a lot like the clothing we'd been given by the vampires.

As it turned out, the money went pretty far. He was able to buy a jacket, pair of pants, two shirts, underwear, socks, a new cap, and some shoes that fit him pretty well. They were just a little big as opposed to the ones he was wearing which were made for much larger feet. As he modeled the jacket and cap in front of the mirror, the owner Rosie teased him a little, "You think you're just a regular swell don't you boy?"

He laughed. "I will be some day," he replied boldly. That made her laugh harder, shaking her head over the illusions of a little boy.

I patted his shoulder," You look great Sammy. Let's go."

"Did we use all the money?" he asked.

Rosie handed me ten cents back. "You have enough to go see the new show playing at the movie house there boy," she laughed. "You can show off the new clothes." We waved to the smiling proprietor and left.

As we got settled in the car, I asked him if he knew how much a movie ticket would cost. I figured he'd be less likely to think it was strange since he was a kid. He thought for a moment. "In Baltimore the kid's tickets were ten or fifteen cents. The adult tickets were more I think."

That gave me an idea.

"Sammy, Mr. Crumpton is taking Alice and I to the movie's tonight. How would you like to come along? I'll pay for your ticket with the ten cents." I suggested. I thought this was a great idea. I'd get two chaperones to help keep Bill at bay.

"But I still may have work to do…..do you think Mr. Crumpton would let me?" he asked, his face eager. Like Alice, he'd only seen a couple movies and like any young boy he was dying to see more.

"We'll only be gone a couple hours because we all have work to do as well. I'll ask him myself, so I'm sure he'll say yes," I said. Here was another nice hurdle for Bill to jump I thought with satisfaction. We bumped along back to the house. I had to direct Sammy with parking the car in the garage like I was ground crew at an airport terminal because he couldn't see well enough to park it.

Once he checked with Mrs. O'Miley to see if she needed anything, he ran off. I put my apron back on, handed over the purse (after putting the ten cents in my apron pocket) and got back to work with Alice. There was a good breeze going, and it was sunny so the laundry was drying really fast. After we did some more food prep, we went outside and started pulling things off the lines. I was amazed how quickly the Viking blanket had dried. I dragged it along with the reenactor's dress and petticoats upstairs to our room. I hung the clothes up to deal with later and carefully spread the blanket out on the foot of the bed. It wasn't a full sized blanket like we think of that can cover a bed. But it was able to just tuck in along the bottom to help keep our feet warm.

I didn't feel badly about inadvertently taking it from human Eric since he was being dragged off into the woods by that gargoyle vampire. And anyway, right now, Eric was asleep next door in a comfortable house, with hot and cold running water, and a floor full of women below him.

The rest of the afternoon passed quickly and it got dark. We set up the food for the women as before, but this time Mrs. O'Miley sent me over to the big house by myself. I carried the tray filled with food that was going to get thrown out I'm sure. It peeved me, to see good food go to waste when people were starving, but there was nothing to be done.

I knocked on Eric's door gently, then opened it when I heard him tell me to come in. I walked in the door a few feet, then came to a dead stop because I realized that Eric was alone. He was sitting at his desk, talking on the desk phone. The room was fairly dark because he only had the desk lamp lit. I set the tray on the desk and turned to leave, but he motioned me to stay. So, I stood there like a bump on a log, and waited for him to finish his phone call. He wasn't talking, just going "uh huh, I see " , that sort of thing.

He was wearing a dark blue suit, with a white shirt and a blue tie. I was seeing a theme here.

The handset came down with a decisive sound and he gave me his full attention. "Miss Norris, I understand you and Mr. Crumpton had a conversation about Sammy's compensation here."

It was a relief that this was what he wanted to talk about. I could handle this. "'Well, yes sir, it just seems unfair to me. He may be just a boy, but he has a family depending on him as well."

Eric studied me, his blue eyes looked darker in the soft, colorful light of the Tiffany lamps. "Well, it was my understanding that he asked for employment and offered to work for tips. Since that was his decision, then I see no reason to change it. He's receiving free room and board and I understand Mr. Crumpton gave you some money to buy him clothes. Is that right?"

I nodded.

"Then there is nothing more to be said on the subject," he said.

There was nothing for me to say at this point either, so I just nodded again and turned to leave.

"I understand you are going out this evening with Mr. Crumpton ?" Eric asked, his tone of voice commanding me to stay.

You know, men say that women are gossips. But in my opinion, men are worse. And vampires are even worse still.

"Well, it's not just me. Alice Waters is going with us and I'm going to ask him if Sammy can come too."

"Really?" Eric smiled, seemingly amused by something, only God knows what.

"Ah, yes."

Eric shuffled his papers a little. "I've heard you really like movies," he commented, a smirk touching briefly on his lips. Damn gossiping vampires, it just had to be Malcolm. Bill wouldn't have said a word, I knew that for a fact.

I shrugged, but I could feel a blush rising on my cheeks. That caught Eric's attention, and his head did that sideways thing that he'd done the previous night when staring at the bite mark on my thigh. He could feel my embarrassment, I just knew it. He knew what he was experiencing. He was feeling my emotions like he'd given me his blood, but for him this was an impossibility. I could almost hear his brain clicking, probably picturing every woman he'd been with for the past ten years (talk about a list a mile long). He stared at me for a few seconds, tapping his desk with a pencil, then he caught himself.

"I hope you have a pleasant evening Miss Norris," he said politely, while giving me a dismissing wave.

"Thank you sir," I replied, fighting the impulse to curtsy.

"Please let Mrs.O'Miley know I'll be stopping by later this evening to go over a few things with her. "

"No problem, you have a nice evening as well." And finally, I turned to go feeling Eric's eyes drilling holes in my back. I was practically holding my breath, until I got to the back staircase. It had felt like he was going to lock the door and interrogate me any minute the whole time I was in there. It was a relief to make it back to the house. I delivered my message to Mrs. O'Miley, who brightened at the news that Eric was going to grace her domain.

Alice drew me aside in the kitchen,"Did mention what time we needed to be ready?"

"Actually, he didn't," I said. I hadn't thought to ask him for that detail. Our problem was solved by the kitchen wall phone ringing. I answered it.

"Hello?"

"Miss Norris, good evening, this is Bill Crumpton calling to let you know I'll be by shortly to escort you and Miss Waters to the movie house. Is this alright?"

"So, we're talking about 15…maybe 20 minutes?"

"Yes, that's about right. Would that be acceptable?"

"That will be fine. Listen, I'm glad you called. I have a question for you."

"Go ahead."

"I'd like to invite Sammy to go with us. I purchased the clothes for him this afternoon and there was ten cents left over. I think he'd love to go to the movies and the ten cents should cover it, don't you think?" There was silence on the other end. "Mr. Crumpton? Is this alright with you?"

"Yes, that would be fine."

"Do you happen to know where he is right now?"

"Yes, I do. I'll bring him with me. I'll see you shortly Miss. Norris."

"Okay." We both hung up. I turned to a very excited Alice.

"He's coming?"

"He's coming," I confirmed. There was a tiny squeal and she quickly stepped down the hallway to let Mrs. O'Miley know, which was great so I wouldn't have to.

We went up to our room and we both put our hats on. Alice did have gloves but she had them carefully stashed in her suitcase so they wouldn't be damaged. We hung up our aprons, straightened our clothes and went back down to the kitchen to wait. Normally, I'd still be doing a last dab at my makeup, but neither of us had any. Bill would have to take us as God made us. And there came the knock at the back door.

Bill and Sammy came in, Sammy looked like he had cleaned up a bit and had his newish clothes on.

"Sammy, you look spiffy!" I said.

Sammy beamed," Thank you Miss Norris."

Bill looked nice too, his conservative dark suit draped nicely over his lean frame. He took his hat off when he came in the door. I didn't tell him he looked spiffy though. "Good evening ladies, are you ready?" he asked. We said yes and off we went.

It was a crisp evening, and I soon found myself wishing for a jacket. Alice was wearing her sweater over her dress. Fortunately, my dress was long sleeved and it was a heavier material, plus I was wearing stockikngs, but if I was here much longer I was going to have to purchase a coat maybe. One more thing to add to the list I guess.

When we turned the corner onto the business street where I had been shopping earlier that day, we could see the marquee glowing from where we were. It was one of those big white traditional movie marquees with the letters you have to put on with a pole. I could read it, it said 'Now Playing: Dracula starring Bela Lugosi'.

Bill froze when he saw the title on the marquee, but I slapped my hand over my mouth as my laughter erupted. My fellow movie goers eyed me and Alice asked," Are you going to share the joke?"

"Oh….it's ….it's nothing…it's really dumb. I just had a really dumb thought, " I explained, trying to catch my breath. My extreme reaction had prevented them from noticing Bill's reaction. He had already collected himself.

"You so silly Miss. Norris," Sammy laughed.

"I guess I am," I agreed quickly. Alice shook her head and Bill glanced at me curiously, but made no comment. We joined the small crowd lining up under the lights. All the women had hats, gloves and their handbags over their wrists. Several were leading children behind them. There were actually more women than men. Then I saw why.

A big sign sitting on the sidewalk in front said 'Thursday Night is DISH night!' Alice grabbed my arm and pointed. "Look Sookie! They're having a dish night!" I smiled and nodded since I wasn't sure what that meant.

Bill said," I'll get the tickets." And he started to walk towards the little glass booth where a young woman was sitting collecting the money. I tugged his elbow and tried to hand him the ten cents, but he smiled, shook his head and pulled away from me.

As it turned out, Sammy was right about the kids tickets being ten cents and our tickets were twenty-five cents. Bill handed them out and as we went through the doors a young man in one of those bell hoppy looking uniforms was standing there accepting our tickets. He had several brown boxes behind him and as each patron handed over his ticket, he would reach in and pull out a glass dish of some kind and hand it to them. So they were handing out free dishes?

They were wrapped in newspaper, American newspapers that appeared to be from someplace in Ohio. Alice, Sammy, and I each checked out what we had received (yes, even Sammy received one, that explained why the women were dragging their kids along). They were white plates with tiny pink flowers painted around the ruffled edges. My Gran had called it milk glass, but Amelia had referred to it as Depression glass. And it just so happened I recognized this pattern. My Gran had inherited this exact same pattern from her mother. I still had most of them because they were lucky enough to have been sitting in the china cabinet with the nice dishes I had inherited from a great grandmother. When my house had been set on fire, I lost most everything in the kitchen, except what was in that china cabinet. Because it had been furthest away from where the worst of the blaze was, it had avoided the calamity intact. I say most of it, because there had been a dish just like this one in the sink the night of the fire, and it had gotten broken when the firemen had been putting it out.

I stared in awe at this incredible stroke of luck. My Gran had tried to add to the set to make it complete, but this pattern was hard to find. She'd look at yard sales and garage sales every once in a while, but had never found even one piece. My companions were also very pleased. Alice was picturing herself handing this dish to her mother as was Sammy. Bill kept his tucked under his arm and I got curious.

"Do you like your dish Mr. Crumpton?"I asked.

"Yes, but a single gentleman has little use for pretty dishes. I think I'll give it to Mrs. O'Miley to thank her for sparing you ladies this evening."

Alice smiled at Bill, "I'm sure she'll be so pleased Mr. Crumpton."

"Please ladies, you may call me Bill," he said smoothly, his look including me.

"Please call me Alice then….Bill," she replied , Boy,did she have it bad for Bill. She loved looking at him and she loved his low, cool voice. I picked this up from her head like she was yelling it in my ear. This irked me for some reason.

"You can call me Sookie of course," I added, to not stand out.

There was a tiny stand with another bell hop selling popcorn and a few snacks like Cracker Jack. The popcorn was only 5 cents a bag, so I decided to treat my fellow movie goers with a snack."How about some popcorn?" I asked. "I'll pay for it."

That earned me an odd look from Bill and he quickly said," I'd be happy to supply a snack for you, if you'd like some."

"No, that's okay, and this was originally from you anyway you know."I stated. I went over and paid for the two small bags, that at current day movie prices would have cost at least $5.00 each. I handed one to Sammy, who was too pleased about receiving popcorn to argue about me paying for it.

"Thank you Miss. Norris," he exclaimed. He was having a wonderful day. He'd gotten clothes, shoes that fit pretty well, he was attending a movie where he received a free dish to give his momma, and now he had popcorn to enjoy during the entertainment. I smiled down at him. Being able to bring a little pleasure into his young, hard life made me happy. I was glad I'd pushed Bill to allow it.

"Alice you and I can share this bag during the movie, " I said.

"Thank you Sookie, I think I will. I haven't had popcorn for a long time." She replied.

Then I remembered I wasn't supposed to know Bill was a vampire so I offered him some too. " Bill, you can help yourself as well."I offered.

"Thank you, but I'm one of those odd people who doesn't care for popcorn. Thank you anyway," he answered politely, his face expressionless. Well, he was telling the truth there.

We were holding up people behind us, so we started moving and just when I was going to ask where we four were going to sit, Sammy split off. "I'll see you after the movie, Miss. Sookie!" he called as he trotted towards some side stairs, clutching his dish and popcorn tightly to his skinny chest.

It was on the tip of my tongue to ask him to stay with us (after all I felt responsible for him), when I got a jolt from observing what was going on around me. All the black people were splitting off and going up the stairs to the balcony seating. And the white people were heading forward towards the main floor of the movie theatre. And just in case this wasn't a big enough hint, there were helpful signs posted. "Colored seating up the stairs" and "White seating only" were clearly posted so there would be no misunderstandings or forgetfulness. As if any of these people could forget. I knew I was going to be sorry, but I gingerly let my shields down to see how the black moviegoers felt about this (especially since they had paid the same ticket prices as the rest of us). There was less anger than I expected, mostly resentment and resignation. This was how things were and they were never going to change , so you might as well accept it. That was the prevailing mood I felt in their heads. I felt anger and guilt myself in equal measure, but I firmly reminded myself that this wasn't a permanent situation. Change was coming. I sighed and resolved to enjoy myself since if what I'd been hearing, when racing season started, we'd be pretty busy.

We followed another bell hoppy fellow into the theatre. He directed us where to sit, holding his flashlight like a conductor's baton. I ended up sitting between Alice and Bill with Bill on the aisle. Bill had murmured to the guy showing us our seats, so I wondered if he had requested these. This way he wasn't penned into his seat. Vampires don't like risking being trapped and I had noticed a severe lack of emergency exits. God help us if there were a fire.

We sat quietly and observed our surroundings and the people. It was a small theatre by modern standards, it probably held three hundred people at the most. There were none of the fancy trappings that I had seen in old movies, it was much more basic with some decorative painting and trim work trying to make it seem classier than it was.

The lights went down and the entertainment began. First there were news reels, letting us know about all the national news and news overseas. I got to see old Hitler again during some news about the Nazi party growing in Germany and how they might take the next election. It gave me chills seeing the film of him giving his speeches to the roaring crowds. I glanced around me. Some of the boys in this audience would be old enough to be drafted and sent to fight him by the time World War II came around. Heck, Sammy was one of them. I needed to stop thinking about this stuff.

The cartoons came on thank God. Even for old black and white, they were very funny and I laughed with everyone else at the goofy jokes and pratfalls. Alice and I were making good work of the popcorn and had already gotten halfway into the bag. Then the main feature came up. I was curious to see the crowd's reaction to this movie.

Over wrought violin music played as they showed the credits, then it cut to a mountain view in Transylvania. Mr. Jonathan Harker was in a horse and carriage on his way to meet his client Count Dracula. The villagers all warned him not to go, but of course he ignored them. There was a happy anticipatory buzz in the audience until Bela Lugosi showed up. The audience got quiet (no cell phones or yakking here) and some of the women were already nervous. He had the scary staring thing down pat. Alice had slowed down her popcorn munching and was sitting further back in her seat becoming noticeably tense.

I remembered having seen bits and pieces of this movie when I was a kid. Jason and I had watched some of it together I think. By modern day standards the acting was stiff and stagey. And it moved really slowly, but during the credits it had said 'based on the stage play'. As when I was a kid, it was hard not to giggle a little at some of the special effects. A large, obviously fake bat flapped over the actor's heads. Some of the creepy creatures in Dracula's castle were obviously not native to Transylvania ( a possum and an armadillo).

But the star was definitely Bela Lugosi. I had to admit the guy had presence as Dracula and whenever he was on screen the audience was mesmerized. Then when he was leaning in close to bite one of the women in the movie, a couple women actually let out little screams. Alice clutched my arm really tight (we'd finished the popcorn), but Bill's reaction was more interesting to me.

When Dracula was leaning into his victims (they never showed him biting anyone, I guess fangs couldn't make it past the censors), Bill was quivering. To another person, he looked like any other guy watching a movie, but I knew him well enough to read that he was getting hot and bothered…in a vampy way. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that his mouth was tightly closed. I was willing to bet his fangs were down, so he was hiding them.

I was also willing to bet my entire paycheck that Alice and I weren't going to make it through the night without a little Bill Biting session.

Then, there was a surprise. One of the women in the movie had exchanged blood with Dracula! From what they were describing, it sounded like she had a blood bond with the Count. I sat up a little and became more alert. I had never paid much attention to previous Dracula movies and I had never read the original book by Bram Stoker, even though Eric would have been happy to loan me his copy. Unfortunately, there was no real resolution to that since the good guys won and the bad guy was vanquished. Once the movie was finishing, there was some applause and people started talking about the movie amongst themselves.

The reactions were a mixed bag. Some thought the entire story was silly. Some had seen the stage play and thought the stage play was better. The women's reaction was amazing. I was surprised that some women in the audience had a crush on Bela Lugosi now. They loved the formal wear, his cape, his accent , his old fashioned manner. And several of them were having fantasies about what it would be like to be bitten. Wow, the 1930's version of a fangbanger. If only they knew.

Most of the kids thought it was creepy and 'swell'. Some wanted to see it again. Sammy was one of them. We hooked up with him out front. He was amped up. "That was swell! Did you like it Miss. Norris?" he asked, holding his plate tightly.

"Yes, that was really something," I replied.

"I wasn't expecting it to be so …so….suspenseful," Alice said. She wasn't able to describe what she was feeling, which was very mixed. On one hand, she felt the bad vampire needed to be vanquished, on the other….boy was there another hand.

"What did you think of the movie, Bill?" I asked, looking up at him. He'd calmed down and looked like his usual unruffled self.

"I've read the original book and I've seen the stage play," he said carefully, (of course he had). "It was quite a different experience seeing it on a big movie screen."That was almost as noncommittal as my answer.

We made it back to the main house. Bill and Sammy left right away due to work they had. Bill had thanked us for a lovely evening, tipped his hat (Sammy had tipped his cap at the same time, it was cute); then they walked towards the garage. Bill said they had to make a delivery to The Bayou Hotel.

Mrs. O'Miley had come thumping down the stairs and had been very pleased with Bill's gift. This plus the fact that Eric and her were going over business in the sitting room on the main floor had her in a good mood. Alice and I had to remove our hats, get our aprons and continue working. There was more foodstuffs to prepare for the next day. The good thing is that we were able to work on our own without the grumpy shadow, so it was almost relaxing. We talked about the movie, the people we had seen, the news reel or rather, she talked a lot about these things and I just kept going along. It was exhausting trying to constantly remember where and when I was and to not slip up.

Once we were finished, we had been told it was okay to go to bed, so Alice headed up while I was finishing up a couple pans. It would be nice getting to sleep at a reasonable hour, but that depended on whether Bill was going to do a bloody drive by or not. Finally, I was done and I slowly walked up the steps towards our room. Dropping into the bed was going to be wonderful. I couldn't wait.

The small lamp was on, and I entered quietly once it appeared Alice was already in bed. Was she asleep already? She must have been even more tired than me, poor thing.

You'd think I'd know by now how to tell a sleeping person from a glamoured person. But I'm not perfect and my telepathy isn't either. I didn't feel the void until it was too late.

A blur and I was pinned against the wardrobe, the grey Viking blanket shoved under my nose and Eric's big blues staring me in the face.

His face was hard and cold as marble. His expression retained no hint of his previous humanity. His grip tightened on my shoulder and his fangs flashed as he snarled "Where did you get this blanket?"

TBC

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_A/N Silly Sookie, she's such a typical Stackhouse saving EVERYTHING. _


	15. Chapter 15

_A/N All these cool characters belong to Charlaine Harris ,not me, boo hoo_

_I have no beta so all screwups are entirely my fault. _

_Whoo hoo ! I'm back! I've been plugging away at this for , well it seems like forever...but 2011 is turning out to be full of crazy drama...drama is fun to read about, but not fun to actually live through. So, that's all I can really say at this point. This chapter is crazy long , so I've cut it in half. The second half will be posted in about a week . It's pretty much done, but I'm cleaning up a few things and I didn't want to make you all wait any longer. _

_**********CONTEST ALERT********** see my notes at the bottom of the chapter for what to do! _

_I'm doing this contest as a thank you to all my hardcore fans who've stuck by me through my infrequent updates and slow pokey storytelling. I appreciate every single one of you! _

_RECAP: Sookie, Alice , and Sammy went with Bill to see a movie, which turned out to be Dracula. Sookie and Alice came home, did some more work and now...Sookie is going upstairs to bed , following Alice who went up a little before her. Unfortunately, Eric has spotted the Viking blanket Sookie had from her time trip back to human Eric's timeframe. Now, Sookie has to answer to Vampire Eric. Let's see what happens..._

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What the hell was wrong with me? Why oh why had I saved that Viking blanket? I could have easily thrown it out, or better yet , given it to some poor homeless person who would have appreciated the warm wool.

I had to go and be a typical Stackhouse and not only save the stupid thing, but wash it, hang it out on the line for the whole world to see, then put it on my bed. Maybe, I'm not any smarter than my brother Jason like I'd always thought.

I needed to focus, because my mortal life was hanging on a thread this very second. Eric was smart, and fun to be around(sometimes), but he was also a cold blooded killer who cared about his own sweet self more than anything. If he saw me as a threat to him, I'd be swimming with the fishes.

"Where did you get this blanket?" he demanded again. He leaned in so close I could feel his cool breath on my face and the wool blanket was shoved under my nose to the point it was rubbing.

I think I replied something that sounded like 'eek'. That didn't go over well.

"WHERE DID YOU GET THIS BLANKET?" he asked deliberately and more slowly, like I rode the short bus to school.

"Ah" I said. My lack of eloquence and ability to lie under fire was going to get me killed. I wondered how he was going to do it. Or more likely, he'd just hand me over to one of the other vampires. Maybe he'd have Bill do it. That would be awful.

Okay, that was dumb just thinking that. After all, it didn't matter who killed me, I'd be just as dead. Focus Sookie, Focus!

Then a miracle happened.

"Eric, what are you doing?" an icy voice demanded. "Why are you in my human's bedroom?"

Thank you God! Bill had come back.

"I was walking by the room and the door was open. Look at this!" Eric growled, shoving the blanket in Bill's face.

Bill's surprise was apparent. "It's a blanket."

"I know it's a blanket, look closer!"Eric ordered, sticking the blanket under Bill's nose.

Bill eyed his vampire boss like he'd lost his mind. "It's a WOOL blanket," he said slowly, like he was talking to a crazy street person.

"Look CLOSER," Eric snapped.

Bill's dark eyes were wide. Keeping one eyeball on Eric he obediently pulled the blanket out of Eric's hand and studied it. "It's handmade," he observed. "The wool was handspun, and this was entirely handsewn with no mechanized equipment, not even a sewing machine. I'd be willing to wager the loom wasn't electric either"

"Very good, and?"

"And….it's got an unusual decoration around the edge sewn with red thread."

"Doesn't it smell odd to you?"

Bill smelled it delicately. He had a very sensitive sense of smell, even for a vampire. Initially, he gave a perfunctory sniff, then his brows drew together and he inhaled deeper. "That IS odd."

"Yes, yes?"

"I don't recognize the wool. The sheep aren't from this country."

"You've got that right."

"Australia?" Bill guessed, raising his eyebrow at Eric.

"No. This species of sheep is found in Scandinavia only, Sweden to be specific…possibly a Roslag. "

"Alright Eric," Bill declared, "I give up. What's the issue here? Why are you grabbing my human and becoming enraged over a blanket?"

"Bill, this is a Viking blanket."

"What do you mean Viking? It's done in the Viking style? Is that what the symbols are?" Bill asked, peering curiously at the red threaded symbols.

"That's not what I meant. This is an actual VIKING blanket. It's from my time."

Bill stood motionless, gazing at Eric like he'd lost his mind. At this point, I was just happy that Eric's attention was focused on Bill and his fangs had retracted. Bill shifted a bit, obviously wanting to choose his words carefully. "You believe this is a blanket from the actual time period of the Vikings?"

"Yes."

"Why do you believe this?" Bill asked. It didn't appear he wanted to tell Eric to his face that he was looney tunes.

"The way the wool is handspun, the loom work is distinctive. I recognize the hand sewing."

"Maybe someone made the blanket from their own wool and chose to hand spin it. Some people still do."

"No, this was done on a Viking hand operated loom."

"You have a lot of experience with looms I take it?" Bill asked wryly, trying to lighten the mood I think.

"I built one for my wife for a wedding gift. But I never saw it after that unless it needed repair. Viking women didn't allow men into the room where the loom was located. It was considered unmanly to be interested in female pursuits and any man who entered would be severely ridiculed and ordered out."

Bill smiled at this little story. It was hard for me not to smile too. I needed to remember that my life was on the edge due to this stupid blanket. "So, this was done on a loom similar to a Viking one," Bill continued, trying to humor Eric." Why do you think this blanket is one thousand years old? It's in very good condition don't you think?"

"The runes"

"The what?"

"The symbols, they're runic, that's what they are. We didn't have a written language per se. runes were special and tied to the Gods and were to be respected and used for things of importance like marking tombs, not for grocery lists the way writing is used now."

"Can you read them?"

"Yes."

That shut Bill up for a second. "Well, the symbols didn't disappear. I'm sure there is documentation and artifacts with these runes. I'm sure that someone simply wanted to honor the Viking tradi…."

"Bill, I believe this blanket was made by my wife."

I'm not sure whether Bill or I was more shocked by that statement. It hadn't occurred to me that the symbols might actually SAY something, that it was made by Eric's wife; and I definitely wouldn't have thought he could recognize that fact.

"How…..how….ah," Bill was struggling with how to even approach this statement. "How do you know?"

"The runes signify the same tribal links along this edge," he explained, while pointing towards the corner of the blanket. "And the ones next to it announce allegiance to various Gods. The red color was considered magical or lucky and was very popular since it was a rare color. It would often be used on clothing as spiritual protection."

"What does it say?" Bill asked. His intellectual curiosity had been piqued.

Eric said something in that old language I'd heard him use a few times. It rolled out of the back of his throat like thunder down a passage and evoked times I couldn't even imagine.

"What does that mean? "

"It doesn't translate," Eric said quietly. "It's an old dead language since no one living speaks it anymore. I wouldn't even begin to know how to translate its true meaning to you in modern American English."

I wondered how lonely that would be, to never be able to speak your native language ever again. It would be like if English suddenly went away and I had to speak another language the rest of my life. I would learn it of course, but it would never have the comfort of my own.

Bill pondered Eric's words for a few seconds. He was good at that, allowing silence. Chatting to fill space wasn't something Bill did. "Alright," Bill began. "Let's say for a minute, that this is true. That this is not only a blanket from the Viking era, but it was made by your wife. Frankly, how would you be sure it was made by her specifically?"

"Could you recognize your wife's needlework? If she did embroidery, could you tell it from your daughter's ?" Eric asked. Two vampire guys discussing SEWING, this was weird. I needed to not get caught up in this conversation to the point that I forgot I could die any second.

"Point taken," Bill responded, with a chagrined expression. "So, how would you explain this then?" He handed the grey blanket back to Eric.

"Magic," Eric said. "She must be a witch. That's the only explanation. Somehow she's conjured this." He stared at me suspiciously, rolling the wool across his fingers.

"So what are you suggesting?"Bill asked. He had edged closer to me and had slipped his arm around my waist, pulling me towards him. One hand was rubbing my shoulder where Eric's large hand grabbed me. It was comforting, but I had a feeling he was trying to remove Eric's smell from my shoulder. That wasn't important at this moment. I was just glad Bill was willing to get between me and Mr. Witch Hunter.

I've never owned a new car, but people I know who have tell me that the first scratch the car receives is really painful, like you want to cry kind of painful. But after that you get over it and shrug later minor damage off. I was Bill's shiny new car and right now he was worrying about me being scratched (or worse) by Eric.

"I know what Pam would say," Eric smiled grimly. "She'd say to kill her immediately. Pam hates witches." This was rich considering Pam had been dating one recently. I'd think on that later. I hoped Pam stayed in Paris for a while longer.

Bill's body stiffened noticeably. His face had gone completely blank, which tends to happen when he's hiding the fact that he's angry and about to do something. Both vampires were silent for a moment. Then something occurred to Bill, "Is that what she told you?"

"Who?"

"Sookie. Did she tell you she was a witch?"

"I haven't asked her yet. But that's the only explanation."

"You've got her in trance and you haven't bothered asking her for a further explanation?"

Eric gave him a sourpuss face. "What do you think I was doing?"

Bill shook his head in a 'I can't believe this' sort of way. "I'll ask her." Eric waved his free hand at him, giving permission. Bill turned me gently, those dark fathomless eyes staring into my own. I could feel a gentle pressure in my head. He opened his mouth to speak….

"Wait," Eric interrupted.

Bill turned back to look at him with an exasperated expression. "Yes?"

"Why are you here?" Eric asked, frowning.

"What?"

"Why are you here? Weren't you supposed to be delivering product to The Bayou Hotel?"

"I was down in the garage loading the car. Sammy is driving it over right now."

I had a mental picture of Sammy perched on a rolled tarp driving that huge car through town with crates of illegal booze IN THE DARK. You'd think that vampires were automatically smarter than humans, but they're not. I couldn't believe these guys.

"Why didn't you go with him? The manager there is expecting you."

"I called him from the garage phone and told him I'd be a little late."

"Why did you do that?"

"Well, I felt there was trouble and I …."

"What do you mean you 'felt' there was trouble?" Eric's face was shifting, his eyes becoming almost stormy.

"I just….felt …something….so I came back into the house." Now, Bill was looking puzzled. He was rethinking his actions and realizing how odd they were.

"Did you feel fear Bill?"

"Maybe, what are you postulating?"

"Look at her Bill," Eric ordered. Both sets of eyes observed me, trying to pierce my secret.

I needed to STAY CALM. My emotions were attracting their attention. Think calming, happy thoughts, warm and fuzzy thoughts:

Sunbathing

Jason and I running through the sprinkler during the summer when we were kids and the way the wet grass felt between my toes.

Sunbathing

Staying home sick one day from school and having my Gran fuss over me, making me cinnamon toast and her teaching me how to play Chinese checkers on an old colorful board.

Sunbathing

Tara and I getting our driver's licenses and being allowed to go somewhere on our own for the first time. The mall in Monroe ended up being our big 'adult' excursion, complete with shopping (not buying, just looking) and eating at the food court. We thought we were big stuff.

Sunbathing

Sam, Arlene, and Terry and I playing cards at Merlottes one night when we had to close down for a few hours while a gas line was repaired.

Sunbathing

Bill and I curled up in bed during a storm, listening to the rain pound my tin roof and watching the lightening brighten up the outside. Bill especially enjoyed that since he never got to see my property in proper light.

Sunbathing

Cuddling with Eric when he had amnesia by a roaring fire…no scratch that…I would get sad if I thought about that too.

I refocused on the two vampires who were still studying me. Or rather I kept my blank expression, while I tried to watch them without appearing to do so. Now, that I had my Zen vibe on, hopefully they wouldn't feel anything.

"I don't think I'm feeling anything now," Bill said, his face frowning with concentration.

"But you were earlier," Eric corrected.

"Yes"

"What's going on?"Bill asked. "Just say it Eric! What are you thinking?"

"I can feel her emotions," Eric declared, his voice harsh and controlled. "That's what you're feeling, but you didn't realize it because you've never given a human your blood before."

"But I've shared with Lorena…."Bill offered.

"It's not the same thing. Sharing blood with your Maker is a completely different experience. Human's emotions feel much different." Eric explained.

"But you said you hadn't…"

"I was telling the truth and I don't remember seeing this girl before. And other than Pam, I know for a fact I haven't given a woman my blood in decades."

"And I've never given a human my blood."

"Yes"

"And yet, here we are."

"Yes"

"This is impossible Eric. Even if she is a witch, and I'm not convinced that she is…how would she get our blood and why? What purpose would that serve?"

Eric silently pondered this question for a moment. "Let's ask her." He nodded at Bill to continue what he was doing earlier.

Bill nodded agreeably and refocused back on me. I needed to be on my toes and I still wasn't sure what I was going to say or what kind of story to concoct. This was a different situation than when Eric and Pam had jumped human Bill and I by the side of that road. If I tried telling the truth again with Eric already suspicious and feeling threatened….he might take extreme action.

"Sookie"

I gazed into the eyes of my first love, listening to his cool voice and feeling the gentle pressure in my head. His hand stroked my cheek.

"Where did you get this blanket Sookie?"

Maybe I would stick to the truth a little bit. "I took it accidently from a friend and I didn't get the chance to return it." Human Eric had been willing to tick off his entire village by refusing to sell me as a slave. That moved him into the 'friend' column in my book.

"What was this friend's name?"

"Eric" Let them chew on THAT.

Eric snorted and an amused expression passed over Bill's face briefly.

"Did he tell you anything about this blanket?"

"No" Since Human Eric and I didn't speak the same language, that wasn't happening.

"Where was this friend?"

I had no idea what specific country now occupied the area Eric's people had lived, so I did the best I could. "He's from Scandinavia someplace…I'm not sure."

"Do you know who made it?"

"Someone in his hometown I assume. I don't know anything about it. It's just a blanket." I stated flatly. I didn't care if they thought me ignorant or just plain dumb, just as long as they didn't see me as a potential threat.

"She's not that bright, is she?" Eric observed.

Bill shot him a look. Then he asked the pertinent question," Sookie, are you a witch?"

"No"

"Have you been bespelled by one?"

Well, that was an interesting question. How would I know? Maybe I was and that's why I was bouncing around different time periods, bumping into Eric and Bill. I needed to give an answer. Play dumb, play dumb….."No, I don't think so, what's bespelled?" I asked.

They both leaned back, disappointed in my boring and vague answers. "Well, that confirms some of the things you said about the wool and where it was made. But Eric…are you sure this is your wife's handiwork? I know my human memories are quite difficult to retrieve, so I can only imagine how hard it is for a vampire your age to…."

"Bill," Eric warned.

"I'm simply saying that you could be mistaken. Could you at least consider the possibility? Maybe you became overwhelmed at seeing these runes, and once you smelled the wool and saw the handmade quality of it, you are just seeing what you want to see." Bill explained quietly. He was treading dangerous ground and he knew it. Calling Eric "delusional" was a good way to end up with Eric's foot in his face. I saw Eric do this to a vampire who was stupid enough to be disrespectful to him in front of other vampires while visiting Fangtasia. It took over an hour for the vampire's face to appear normal again. Pam had said the vampire was lucky Eric had been in such a good mood that night.

"I don't think so," Eric restated, but he sounded less sure.

"Think about what you're saying. Does it make any sense? And who would be motivated to do this and why? What purpose would conjuring a blanket serve? A blanket that was lying on a bed in a room you would normally never walk into? " Bill asked, trying to sound as polite and respectful as possible. He was asking the right questions, displaying his future Area 5 investigator skills.

"And the blood?" Eric asked, willing to move along to the more pertinent issue.

"I'm not sure, but if someone has set this up or a witch is involved, killing Sookie will bury that secret."

"Keeping her alive may help flush this person or persons out in the open," Eric mused.

"Exactly"

"But if she displays any further oddities that might put all of us at risk….."Eric said, not spelling it out for Bill.

"I understand," Bill answered obediently. Bill didn't need it spelled out. He visibly relaxed and it was hard for me to not do the same now that I knew I wasn't going to die immediately. Eric didn't want to see anymore freakazoid stuff out of me, and that was fine. I would go through that bag tomorrow and get rid of anything that might catch his attention.

"We need to move along," Eric said briskly as he replaced the blanket at the foot of the bed, where Alice was still snoozing away. He had made his decision and he wasn't looking back. He didn't worry or second guess over his decisions. I envied that about him.

"I need to feed," Bill said. "I was going to come back later, but since I'm here, I'll do it now and then go to the Bayou Hotel."

Eric nodded, but didn't display any signs of leaving the room.

"Eric?"

"I'm hungry," his deep voice rumbled.

"The other girl's blood is decent and clean tasting," Bill advised, keeping his grip on me. If Eric thought Bill was going to offer to share me, he was nuts.

Eric nodded slowly, then in a blur his big body was blocking out Alice's slender form lying on the bed. He was so quick about it, the bed barely squeaked and for that matter, neither did Alice.

Seeing another vampire feeding combined with his own hunger jolted Bill into action. In a New York minute he had me down on the bed as well, the dress's upper buttons undone, and his fangs buried into my neck. The poor bed's boxspring was definitely sqeaking a bit now with both Bill and Eric on top of me and Alice. I doubt this bed was built for orgy sized groups of people. Not to mention, both Bill and Eric are good sized men. Bill's arms and one of his legs was wrapped around me as he drank deeply, the sucking sensation felt like a piece of my neck was going to come off. A bump against my shoulder blade turned out to be Eric's elbow as he finished and was putting Alice's nightgown back together. Then there was silence as Bill was finishing up. Eric made no move to get up, but continued lying in the bed, watching us I think.

Once Bill was done carefully licking the tiny wounds, Eric said," Hold still." This time he was the one leaning forward and licked my blood off of Bill's mouth. I was kind of smashed between the two vampires since Bill was still wrapped around me, holding still as ordered. It was weird being sandwiched between them. As Eric leaned back he smacked his lips and said," She really is quite delicious." Bill's arms tightened around me, which Eric noticed because he laughed. "Calm yourself, it was merely an observation. It's really a shame I'm so busy." And with that he rolled off the bed. After putting my dress to rights, Bill joined him.

"Oh, by the way, you may want to check out the picture playing at the movie house," Bill said, with a smile in his voice.

"I don't think I'll have the time," Eric said.

"You'll want to make the time, I should think."

"Why? What's playing?" Eric asked, his curiosity piqued. "Not another one of those men traveling to outer space on rockets type movies you like is it? I'll never understand why you possess such enthusiasm for stories of events that could never happen."Eric didn't know it, but in about 40 years Eric was going to be eating those words.

"Dracula," Bill answered, his voice was definitely amused.

Stunned silence was the initial response. "You're joking!"

"No"

"Based off the book or the play?"

"The play"

"Who's playing Dracula?"

"An actor named Bela Lugosi."

"Never heard of him. Is it a respectful portrayal?" This was a scary question, if you knew about Eric's fanboy obsession for Dracula and I do mean obsession. He's an incredibly pragmatic, throw off the rose colored glasses kind of guy EXCEPT when it comes to Dracula. Then he loses all perspective, trust me, I've seen it up close and it's not pretty. I wondered what would happen if Bill said no. Would Eric burn down the movie house? Hunt down poor Bela, who was just doing his job?

"It's remarkable how many things they got right. The actor had the audience mesmerized and everyone seemed to respect the actor's performance and enjoy the movie," Bill answered. I gave a silent sigh of relief for the movie house and Mr. Lugosi, wherever he was right now.

"Well then, what about…."

The rest of their conversation was muddled, because they finally left the room, thank goodness. So, now I could change into my gown and get some sleep. I double checked Alice, but she continued breathing softly, getting her beauty rest. No wonder she was so cheerful in the morning, since she was getting a full night's sleep every night, unlike me.

I rubbed my neck a little and snuggled into my pillow, tucking myself under the covers. You'd think with all these near Death By Eric experiences, I'd be wide awake, but my fatigue dragged my limbs and everything else down into sleepy land.

There was incredible warmth all over my body, permeating every pore of my being. Opening my eyes just a smidge, a big yellow sun blazed out of a brilliant, blue sky complete with fluffy clouds drifting by. There was a rocking motion, so I sat up and realized that I was sitting on the deck of a boat …or rather a snazzy yacht. Rough terrycloth rubbed under my butt and I immediately realized I was naked as the day I was born, lying on a big beach towel. I quickly glanced around and saw an endless ocean as far as the eye could see. The only sounds were the tied sails flapping in the breeze and water lapping at the sides of the boat, excuse me, YACHT.

"Hello?" I called out, since there was a doorway behind me that led down below. "Anyone here?" Getting no answer, I used my telepathy to scan and sensed nothing. For some reason, I was unconcerned about being alone on this craft by myself in the middle of the ocean. Hey! I could work on my tan. This seemed to make perfect sense to me. Sliding on the large black sunglasses sitting next to me on the towel, I laid back with a satisfied grunt.

The temperature was perfect, the breeze was perfect, and for some reason I didn't seem to be burning at all. Periodically, I would turn over so I would tan evenly. I didn't get hungry. I didn't get thirsty. I didn't have to pee either. The slow, steady ebbing of the ocean under the yacht kept putting me to sleep. A couple times, I would sit up and glance around, but I was completely and blissfully alone.

It was heaven.

The sun was setting on the deep blue horizon and the sky was on fire. While I was still comfortable, the temperature had fallen just a little. When I was lying back, the breeze picked up a little and the folded sails banged against the mast. Goose pimples formed all over and my body became tingly from the top of my head down to my toes (which were still painted the orange color from the Halloween party). I was on my back and I bent my knees and spread my legs a little, so it felt like ocean breeze fingers were tickling me down below. My hands seemed to have a mind of their own and drifted. M y breath came deeper and my body arched. Then I heard a deep voice.

"Are you waiting for me?"

My eyes popped open, the sun was at ocean level now and the light was a mix of pinks, oranges, and yellows. I tore off my dark sunglasses. A familiar tall figure stood in front of me.

"Eric!" I exclaimed. "How are you out here? The sun hasn't completely set yet!"

Eric was standing naked, leaning casually against one of the masts, his long blond hair blowing in the gentle breeze like Fabio doing a romance novel cover. "I'm old. I wake up as the sun hits the horizon. I just can't go outside."

"But you're outside now."

"You're dreaming Sookie."

"Oh," I replied awkwardly, since he was standing there observing me with my legs all askew, playing with my boobage. For a second, I thought about being embarrassed….then I decided I wasn't.

"I didn't know you were here," I offered as an excuse to a question he hadn't asked yet.

"I was dead for the day, so of course you didn't." He paused. " I like this view of you. I'm not interrupting anything am I?" he smirked, not sounding the least bit sorry. "Or would you like me to interrupt?" His gaze deepened as his eyes trailed around my body and fangs slowly descended.

"Um," was my articulate response.

"I'll take that as a yes."

He pushed himself from the mast and slowly strolled over, his feet reaching forward towards the deck like a lion creeping across the African plains. The expression on his face was complete determined focus, like I was about to be devoured. He stopped, standing over me with his feet on either side of my waist, the Gracious Plenty and friends blocking out the disappearing sun. It was a bit disquieting being stared at this way. My arms stayed over my chest and my knees started coming together.

"Don't cover yourself," Eric pleaded. "It would be a crime."

"Sweetheart, you need to keep your legs open as well," a cool voice added. The sun had disappeared, but there was still light radiating from the horizon. Bill glided over and ended up next to Eric. He was naked too. We had ourselves a little nudist party here. His facial expression pretty much matched Eric's, as his tongue played with the sharp points of his fangs. "We want to see everything, darling."

"Bill is right," Eric said.

Well, now I KNEW I was dreaming.

"Show us everything. We want every part of you, lover," Eric added, his voice melted over me like caramel.

This beach towel was about to get a little messy.

Miss Goody Two Shoes Sookie in the back of my mind was saying this was wrong, but my body was telling her she needed to get lost or walk the plank. I'd had one or two fantasies about this…alright maybe three ….or four….I'm not sure…but it wasn't anything I'd seen as possible. Not to mention it would create all kinds of massive chaos in my life…AND …Eric and Bill would be adamantly against it. Vampires are possessive as heck, so this would never happen..never, ever, ever. But hey! This is MY dream and I can do as I please.

"You can have every part of me, if I can have every part of you," I challenged. They both smiled, and in a flash I had two vampires lying on either side of me.

Words can't begin to describe how it felt to not only have both cool bodies pressed on either side of me, but two sets of strong hands roaming around. I obeyed their previous request and spread my legs as wide as I could, for which they were happy to reward me. First Eric twisted my head towards him and after he kissed me deeply, I giggled a little.

"What?" he asked.

"You'll get to remember it this time!" I laughed. He laughed too.

"Evidence that the Gods exist," he smiled.

Then I turned my head back to Bill and he gave me his version of taking my breath away, his tongue forming a familiar rhythm. I hesitantly reached out one hand and touched him. It felt like it had been a hundred years since I had touched him down there.

"I've missed you," I confessed. I could admit this in a dream. No one would know.

"The feeling is mutual," Bill murmured softly against my neck. "Let's make up for lost time, shall we?"

"Oh yes, " I said, then I added," Oh YES..YES." Long fingers…I'm not sure whose at this point, were sliding into wet, dark places and I was going to lose myself in the stars that were starting to appear overhead. I decided to throw a little caution to the wind and wrapped my arms around both of them, pulling them to me as tightly as I was capable. Two cool mouths latched onto my chest and sharp points dug into my nipples as they sucked.

"This will be the most amazing thing you've ever felt lover," Eric growled, low and hot.

"Bring it on," I urged. I was so ready. Then Bill started shaking me. "Hey!" I protested. "That doesn't feel good, cut it out!"

"I'm sorry sweetheart, but you need to wake up now. "

"No she doesn't," DreamEric argued.

"Yes she does," DreamBill countered.

Great, even in my dreams the two of them couldn't stop bickering long enough to give me some rocking orgasms. See what I mean about this being a hopeless possibility?

"Don't listen to him," Eric urged.

"She has to….you have to wake up now darling," Bill said.

"But I don't want to. I want to stay here with you," I whined. I was all splayed out, ready to go..what was wrong with DreamBill?

"We'll still be here for you. Goodbye." Bill stood up so suddenly it caught me off guard. When Eric started to pull away I tried to cling to him, but he was too strong.

"Eric!"

"Bill is correct, we have to go."

"Since when do you agree with Bill? Stay with me please? I'm so scared and I don't know what's going to happen to me. Please don't go!" I begged, sitting up and holding my hands out to them. I was just now allowing myself to realize how afraid I really was with this time travel thing and dealing with the real time Bill and Eric who didn't care about me like my versions back home did.

"I'm sorry Sookie, we have to go. You'll be alright. You're very strong, even stronger than you realize. " Bill repeated as he and Eric started disappearing into the darkness, levitating off the deck of the yacht. "You need to wake up now."

"Bill's right. You'll be fine, my little warrior princess, wake up!" Eric agreed cheerfully.

Warrior princess?...Ew, what is this? An episode of Xena?…"Would you STOP agreeing with Bill!" I yelled back. I never thought in a hundred years I'd be saying this to Eric.

"WAKE UP! "

I felt shaking. Someone was gripping my shoulders. My eyes snapped open, "Huh?" I groggily muttered.

"Wake up Sookie!" Alice yelled in my ear. Her brown eyes stared down at me, with a worried frown wrinkling her forehead.

"I'm awake," I said. "Stop shaking me!"

She sat back. "I'm sorry, but you wouldn't wake up and Mrs. O'Miley is yelling for us to get moving." Yeah, yeah, no lollygagging, so what's new?

"Okay, okay….I'm awake now, give me a second here, " I said, blinking. She nodded and got off the bed. She was kind of half dressed, but her hair was brushed. I dragged myself out of bed, somehow managed to get myself ready, so Alice and I could scurry downstairs to Mrs. O'Miley who was waiting not so patiently.

The morning (well, morning for me) passed in a blur. I was a little shaky from my dream and not just from the fun sex interruption part. The part where I pleaded for them to stay with me, because I was …I AM afraid. And I had also realized that I missed both of them…the two annoying, make my life complicated vampires; the two vampires who cared about me, each in their own sometimes irritating way. Most of the time, I pretend their feelings aren't real. that they'd toss me aside in a heartbeat; but, another tiny clear speaking part of me argued differently. I was thrown off kilter by these current day versions of Bill and Eric and I wanted my Bill and Eric back.

Needless to say, all this heavy duty angsty thinking wasn't helping me focus on the things I was supposed to be doing. Mrs. O'Miley had a few words to say about that. When Alice and I went outside to pull some things down off the line, she asked me if I was alright. It's not like I could tell her the truth. I couldn't tell anyone or ask for help, or could I?

Alice was humming cheerfully to herself, so I had to ask her what she was so chipper about. "We're getting paid today, remember?" she grinned.

"Oh! I forgot it was Friday!" I exclaimed, smiling back and feeling a teensy bit better. Getting paid always puts anyone in a better mood.

"We won't get paid a full wage since we've only been here a few days, but it's better than nothing and I can send a little home to my Momma."

Her good mood was catching, which was a positive thing. I was worrying about something I couldn't control which my Gran would have told me was a foolish waste of time. I thought about my idea of contacting Niall when I was with the Compton family. Even though this was 1931, the major newspapers had information from all over the place and reached a lot of people. Not to mention, now there was telephones and radio. Okay, I would add that to my list, which was getting longer by the minute. How much did it cost to run a personal ad in say …the New York Times? There had to be fairies reading it right? Or maybe the Washington Post? And I could phrase it in a way that would catch a fairies attention, with just enough info so they would know I was legit. This would require some thought, since I didn't want to attract the wrong kind of attention.

It felt good to feel like I was taking some kind of action rather than passively sitting by waiting until someone found me. And I had no idea how long I would be here since this time travel thing didn't seem to follow any rules that I'd noticed. This would be a little project for my day off, which couldn't come soon enough. Multiple train whistles interrupted my thoughts.

"The town is filling up," Alice commented. "Mrs. O'Miley told me there are extra trains running for racing season. They get folks from as far away as Washington DC, Philadelphia, New York, and even Chicago!"

"Wow, I wonder how busy we'll be," I mused. I thought I'd been imagining hearing more trains today. And I thought I'd noticed more cars rumbling down the street than usual. So, all sorts of visitors would be arriving in town to partake of the various forms of entertainment. Speaking of entertainment, I'd be willing to bet the women next door would be making all kinds of extra money. Given what they had to do to earn that money though…they could keep it. It was good we'd be busy though since that meant Eric would be occupied with his 2nd..maybe 3rd favorite activity: making money. As long as I kept my nose clean and didn't do anything to bring attention to myself, he'd probably forget I existed, which would be just fine and dandy by me.

We had a busy afternoon. It seemed like we were in overdrive just mixing, measuring, chopping, and stirring for all our little hands were worth. I was sent into town on my own to do some business while the other two women finished wrapping some more sandwiches in wax paper. I remembered to put my hat on, although this didn't stop Mrs. O'Miley from grumbling about my lack of gloves. It was very busy, so busy in fact it felt more like a real city with people going to and fro everywhere. I saw very well to do men and women being unloaded at one of the little hotels, the bellboy running around with their bags. A couple men driving by stopped me to ask for directions, which of course I couldn't give them. George at the grocers greeted me by name and I handed him my list. After paying for things there, I went and picked up the packages at the news place (no porn this time). There were more men in there talking about their fishing adventures that morning, although it appeared they were being a bit flexible with the truth.

I actually ran into Sammy in town. He tipped his hat to me as he ran past on his way to do an errand for the men at the distillery, excuse me , tomato cannery. I waved back with a smile. I was starting to feel like I'd lived in this town for ages, it was crazy.

When I got back to the house, it turned out Alice and I needed to take all the sandwiches next door and put them in the men's new fridge. So, we loaded up the little wagon again and schlepped over with wax bundles stacked up high, more apples (Was Eric getting them on special?), milk, hard boiled eggs, canned tomatoes, freshly baked bread, and some other miscellaneous items. As we grunted our way down our walkway, I commented on how much food we were taking over.

"This is a lot of food! Are they expecting a famine or something?" I joked. I was instantly sorry I'd said it, because Alice's mind had visuals of the hunger her and her family had been dealing with for the past couple years. It was so easy to forget that while we were all sitting pretty being fed like pigs being prepped for Christmas, many Americans were going hungry. I wanted to apologize, but I'd learned over the years to never ever comment on things I'd seen in people's minds. Alice didn't say anything, so we silently pushed the wagon up to the side door of the white house.

A couple men must have seen us coming from the windows. They popped right out.

"Hey there dolls! Let us take that inside," the taller one said. They practically grabbed it from us. Their sense of male pride and chivalry and the fact they wanted to make a good impression coming into play. "Why didn't Mrs. O'Miley just call us to come get this? There's no reason for pretty girls like yourselves to be doing this kind of heavy lifting." His shorter buddy agreed vigorously.

"Oh, it's alright. I'm not afraid of hard work. I used to lift all kinds of equipment by myself back home," Alice replied.

"I'll bet you did toots, but it's still not right. Girls like you should have a strong man to take care of things you know?" He insisted. Alice just looked at him with a shy smile.

He was getting on my modern day feminine nerves, so I wisely kept my mouth shut for fear I'd say something that would draw attention. And this guy may have been speaking to her, but he really wanted to get to know me better since he thought I was the pip, whatever that means. Apparently, it was something good.

We got into the house. It turned out the side door entered directly into the kitchen, which looked very similar to ours except it wasn't quite as exactingly organized and clean. An older gray haired man held the door open for us.

"Hey there pops! Tell these girls here where everything goes," tall guy said.

The older man acted like we were invading his turf, but he gruffly did as the tall guy said. We slid the milk, boxes of sandwiches and various other perishables into the fridge. They only had one, but it was twice as wide as ours and had two doors. The older guy had a towel slung over his shoulder , so it appeared he'd been doing dishes. Tall guy added," He serves us our meals over here, and keeps the kitchen clean, house cleaned up, stays on us to keep things ship shape. Since we're working these odd shifts it's easier to have some meals here and some in your house. Mrs. O'Miley says she'd never get any work done otherwise."

"I watch over things here too," the old man insisted. "I make sure no one gets it in their heads to do any thieving."

"Yeah, I guess that too," tall man said.

"We're glad you're here though," the shorter one said. "You're a lot prettier than pops here." The men laughed and Alice giggled nervously. She wasn't used to this kind of attention, I could tell.

Our female voices attracted attention, because some other men drifted in curiously from the next room where I could hear a radio program blaring.

"Hey! I thought I recognized your voices!" one man said. I recognized him from the Blue Card Brigade. Two more men who'd come with us popped their heads around the corner too. "You brought us some grub?"

"Yep," I answered, as I lined up the tomato cans neatly on the shelf with Pops eyeing me like I was going to hide them under my skirt and steal them.

"Our shift starts in a few hours, right after we get paid. I hear we'll get a partial since we've been here a few days," he said. "How's it been going for you?"

"Um, not bad," I replied. I wasn't going to bad mouth Mrs. O'Miley. Who knows what would get back to her. "So, far it's not so bad. How are you all doing?"

He smiled real wide, displaying a few teeth that looked like they'd probably need to come out fairly soon. "So far, this has been the best job I've ever had! Funny huh? Since they're …." He shrugged meaningfully at me. I nodded that I understood. "Don't get me wrong, they work us hard down at the cannery, no mucking around, no sirree. But the food's been good and this is a real nice place, real clean. I don't think I've seen even one bedbug! He laughed. Oh gack. I hadn't even thought to check my bed for bedbugs or anything else that might be crawling around in it. Now, I was going to have the creepy crawlys all night, like worrying about Bill doing a drive by wasn't bad enough.

"Hey there," he said, suddenly lowering his voice. He leaned over and started helping me pull a few things out of a box, while Alice was busy being a captive audience for tall man telling a joke to her and his buddies. "Not that I'm complaining or anything, but have you noticed these fellas we're working for….don't they seem a little strange to you?"

"What do you mean?" I asked innocently, gazing at him all wide eyed.

"Well, Mr. Crumpton he seems like a stand up guy, but that Malcolm…he gives a fella the jeepers you know? That Mr. Vic, he's as slick as they come….slippery as a snake if you ask me. And Mr. Blue….I mean …look at him! What's a fella to think?"

I had to admit, this guy had good instincts. He didn't know what they were, but he knew something was wrong and he was able to read them, even though the vampires were doing their best Act Human job. I had to be careful here. "Oh, I don't know. They've been polite and gentlemanly enough to me and Alice. They probably just seem strange because of the business they're in , you know?"

He wasn't convinced, but I had temporarily eased his thoughts, so he just shoved them aside. "Yeah, you're right, I'm just a little jittery about all this. I've never been involved in this kind of thing before…but I'm sure I'll get over it when we get paid tonight!"

"Sure thing," I agreed.

"Do you think Mrs. O'Miley could spare you ladies to come keep us fellas company for a little bit? We could listen to the radio. These clowns have gotten boring as the day is long, " He laughed, gesturing towards his buddies.

"Um, no, I'm sure she can't. She's keeps us pretty busy. " In fact, I was pretty sure I'd be hearing the "lollygagging speech" when I got back. I practically had it memorized.

"Oh shucks, are you sure?" He gave me a puppy dog look, which made me laugh. One of the other men came over and dragged him away for a second. He spoke urgently into his ear, while glancing at me. I heard reference to "Mr. Crumpton's moll" or something like that. What was a moll? His girlfriend? His main squeeze? My new acquaintance got a panicked expression and popped back over to me. "Hey there, I didn't mean to offend or nothing. "

"You didn't offend me," I said, a little confused.

"And I really do like working here, so if you can just forget anything I said. I didn't mean nothing by it, really. I don't mean no harm," he said, definitely sounding jittery now.

"Its fine," I reassured him. "I'm not offended by anything you said. Don't worry about it." He heaved a sigh of relief and immediately followed his buddy around the corner, wanting to get away from me as fast as possible.

At this point, Pops was looking like he wanted us women out of the house. So, we weren't going to be taking a look around. I guess this wasn't considered appropriate. I think Pops was the morality police too, maybe. All the food stuffs had been unloaded, so Alice and I trekked back to 'our' house.

The sun was falling in the sky at this point, and we both hustled back so as to not receive yet another lecture from Mrs. O'Miley. I got a start when we passed Gerald walking towards the men's house. I couldn't get used to seeing him as a human (and in daylight no less). I was curious since he seemed to be the only human here who was 'in the know'. Reading his mind was disappointing. He was thinking about the various things he had to get done and about our getting paid tonight. Nothing earthshattering about the vampires, but then they probably didn't confide in him as much as he probably thought. There was a little smugness in his thoughts that he was the vampire's confidant around all these humans. I didn't have to know more about his relationship with them to know this wasn't true. A vampire wouldn't allow himself to be vulnerable to a human that way, especially before the Great Revelation. I was as sure about this as I was about receiving a lecture from Mrs. O'Miley as soon as I walked into the kitchen of our house.

Once we received our lecture, we got to sit down and eat our dinner. Then, we prepared some lunches 'to go' for the employees about to arrive. Everyone was going to be paid here.

I was surprised by how many people there were crowded into the kitchen. Out of respect for Mrs. O'Miley (or maybe it was fear), everyone was quiet and murmured softly amongst themselves as we waited for our pay. She had made coffee, so Alice and I scooted around pouring it for all the men. Once again, I took note that all these men appeared healthy and strong. The vampires wouldn't have any use for weaklings.

The women from next door came over as a group and boy were they ready for the evening! Maybe they couldn't have fancy gems, but there were feathered hair pieces and satin gloves. The dresses they were wearing had gorgeous colors and some beading along the bottom edges which swayed as they walked. The excessive amount of makeup pronounced their profession quite loudly in my opinion. Several of them pulled out lovely fans and started waving them back and forth. The kitchen was a little warm with all the people standing in it.

They came through the back door like they were entering a stage and all the men fell quiet as mice their eyes watching the women's every move. Once again, I noticed that the women weren't necessarily the most attractive women I'd ever seen. And each one was very different, maybe so there would be something to appeal to every customer. I just had trouble imagining men paying to be with these women. Okay, maybe I'm just being catty, because I know Eric is sleeping with some of them.

And here came the money! Victor and Bill came in, preceded by Gerald who was all puffed up with self importance since he was carrying a metal lock box, that I assume had our pay in it. There was a happy buzz and everyone immediately lined up in an organized fashion, making a loop around the kitchen. We were all being paid in cash. Gerald would ask how they wanted it and each man would murmur if he wanted a large or smaller bills. Most chose the small bills since they were sending some of it to their families. There was a ledger opened up on the table and each would be asked to mark next to his name where Bill would point. Some of them literally made a mark, just like you see in old movies. They would scratch out an "X" symbol and that counted I guess.

Once the men were out the door, their voices grew much louder talking about what they were going to purchase. The women lined up, chattering now that the men were gone and fanning themselves. A short, curvy red head asked," Where's Gertrude? I thought she was coming with us?"

"Oh, she's getting her payment from the bossman himself," a bleached blond answered, winking at her buddy. The women all tittered at this comment. I tried to remember who Gertrude was and what she looked like, since it appeared she was the lucky one receiving Eric's special attention. I told myself to stop being stupid. You'd probably need a calculator to count up all the women Eric had been with in his long undead life.

Finally, Alice and I went up. Bill smiled at me when I slowly signed my name where he pointed. I had to remind myself to sign Sookie Norris, not Stackhouse. Gerald carefully counted the money out as Victor watched me like a hawk. What did he think I was going to do? Grab the metal box and run?

As I folded the bills and put them in my apron pocket, it felt very discouraging to have worked so hard for so little money. It also occurred to me that I didn't have a safe place to stash it. I didn't have a bank account and banks failing were a big reason for the stock market crash. Not to mention, who knows when I was going to jump out of this time period and I'd like to take my money with me if possible. I might need it later. Would the money jump with me? I guess I'd find out. Here's hoping.

Everyone trooped out, including the money men, leaving me, Alice, and Mrs. O'Miley alone again. We cleaned up what little remained from our little food giveaway. As each man collected his pay, he'd been given his meal to go as well. We sat down in the ironing room, listening to the radio playing the latest tunes while we did one of my least favorite chores. Actually, ironing was almost my least favorite since I ended up doing that instead of mending which I most definitely did not want to do. Mrs. O'Miley perched some reading glasses on the edge of her nose as she diligently went through the pile next to her. I think she preferred mending so she could get off her feet for a little while.

We worked by the glow of the floor lamps for a while. I was mentally going over the various items I might need to buy, especially if I was going to be stuck here for a while. I would probably have to wait until the following payday for certain things. And I was also wishing I hadn't been so dismissive of my Gran when she'd talked about how much harder everyone worked in the old days. There was a little guilt drifting through me about that.

The creak of the back screen door alerted us that someone had entered the house. The void I felt in my head told me it was one of the vampires.

_TBC_

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_A/N Go to my profile page for the contest rules and info on entering ! Just click on my id name above. The winner will get to select my next story from some outlines I've already got worked up ! I have a variety to choose from. _

_Next chapter: Sookie and Alice go shopping , Everyone gets paid, Sookie goes on a date with Bill that doesn't end well_


	16. Chapter 16

_A/N All these characters belong to Charlaine Harris, gosh darn her. _

_Yes, it's another chapter! Amazing huh? Actually, this is the 2nd half of the original chapter 15 that ran too long. Plus, I had to tinker with the ending on this chapter. _

_The winner of my contest was semiramisII. The winner of the 2nd runner up drawing was Ilovemysteries. Semi has chosen her short story and one shot and mysteries has chosen her oneshot. Thanks to those of you who took the time to take my little quiz and participate. _

_Well, the previous chapter was just posted barely 2 weeks ago, so you shouldn't need a recap now should you? _

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"Yes?" Mrs. O'Miley called out. "Who is it?"

Bill's face peeked around the corner. "It's just me."

"Ah," Mrs. O'Miley nodded. "What can I do for you Mr. Crumpton?"

"I was wondering if you could spare Miss Norris for a few minutes?" All eyes in the room turned to stare at me as I stood there pressing the heavy iron against a pair of pants. Mrs. O'Miley nodded towards Bill and he put his hand out for me to follow him back down the hall. I silently followed him up the stairs to the main level and into the sitting room at the front of the house near the front door. It was a simply furnished room with a few pieces of furniture , a couple lamps, magazines sitting on the coffee tables, and a rug in the middle. I hadn't actually sat in this room, neither had Alice. The only time I'd been in it was to clean and polish.

Bill gestured towards the small settee and lowered himself next to me once I'd gotten myself seated. He took his hat off and reached out for my hand.

"What's this about Mr. Crumpton?" I asked briskly. "I have work that needs to be done."

"I know that, so I'll be brief," Bill said. "I have a question for you."

"Yes?"

"Do you like me Sookie?"

"What?"

"It's a simple question. You see, I like you very much and when I have time to spare, I'd like to spend it with you. Would you be willing to grant me the pleasure of your company?"

I pressed my lips together as I pondered this question and stared at our hands intertwined. It had been so long since I'd seen those pale hands holding mine. His hands weren't as cold as his "normal" temperature and not nearly as white, so I assume he'd just fed before coming over here.

"Sookie?"

"Yes?"

"Tell me what you're thinking."

"Well, Mr. Crumpton…I guess my…"

"Please call me Bill," he interjected.

"Okay, Bill… um..I like you I guess, but I don't know what kind of um…expectations you have about us. I guess that's my concern." There, that sounded nice and vague didn't it? I needed to keep Bill off balance a bit.

"I would like to keep company with you."

"Explain to me what that means," I said bluntly. Dammit, I wish I'd been like this when I'd first started dating Bill. It might have changed a few things.

He frowned a bit. He hadn't expected to be challenged in any way. I concentrated on keeping my eyes downward, staring at our hands. He wasn't going to glamour his way out of this. Sookie Stackhouse was ready for him, yes she was. "I enjoy your company. I hope you enjoy mine. It would be pleasant to spend more time together, don't you agree? "

I sighed. "I guess I'm wondering how you see us spending time together and what kind of woman you think I am."

A tiny light bulb went off over Bill's head. "Ah," he answered slowly. "I wouldn't make overtures that any respectable woman wouldn't agree to, if that is your concern."

Well, it sounded good. Anyone watching our exchange would consider him a respectable gentleman and would never suspect he'd been jumping me and Alice, drinking our blood since we got here. I wondered what he would expect us to do once I agreed. His words to Malcolm were clear in my head and I knew he wanted me because my Bill had always wanted me. I just didn't want to have sex with my ex-boyfriend. It would be too weird and too painful for me, but I also couldn't turn Bill away right now. As long as I was his, he would watch out for me and I needed protection until I jumped out of this place. It wasn't 100% that Eric would take me if Bill didn't , which means I could end up with Victor by default.

That made up my mind for me. I felt confident in handling Bill. He wanted to get me into bed, but he wanted me there willingly otherwise he would have glamoured me already and done the deed. After all, this was a different time period and most women were still virgins when they got married, or at least engaged. And Bill was a patient man. I could put him off for a while.

"Okay, I guess we can give it a whirl," I said, smiling back at him.

He favored me with one of those rare beautiful Bill Compton smiles. "Thank you Sookie," he said and he leaned over and kissed my hands. "I have to check in with some of our customers tomorrow night. We could have dinner, then you could go with me."

"So, it's like a business thing?" I asked. That didn't sound like fun.

"It's a couple of the entertainment establishments here in town. They have music and dancing. I'll have a little business to attend to, then we can enjoy ourselves, maybe dance a little if you'd like?"

It sounded like we were going to a couple of the bars that purchased booze from Eric or maybe they were dance clubs. We'd be around lots of people which meant no hanky panky. I could handle that. "That sounds like fun," I replied, nodding along agreeably.

"Ah, one of them …if this wouldn't be a problem….it's a colored establishment," Bill explained, eyeing me for any balking. "It's run by very respectable negros you understand. I wouldn't take you there if it wasn't," he added hastily. "In my opinion, they have the best performers and music for dancing. I think you might like it. Would you be amenable to trying it?"

"That would be fine," I answered, to Bill's relief. He must have been anticipating a Southern white girl not wanting to go hang out with black people. Well, from the attitudes I'd seen so far that was understandable. "I have no problem going to a club if it's run by nice people," I said.

"Excellent," he answered, obviously pleased. "I have some things to do for Mr. Blue earlier in the evening, but I'll call you later on and let you know when I'll be over. " That was clever. Bill was making it sound like he got up while it was still daylight. That way I'd assume the reason I couldn't see him before nightfall was for work.

"That will be fine, "I agreed. Then something occurred to me. "Ah, I only have my work clothes. Will I need to find something to wear?"

"I'll talk to Mrs.O'Miley about that," Bill answered. "There's no reason for you to spend your money on clothes for tomorrow night. I'm sure we'll find something for you."

I took this to mean that I'd be hunting through the big room closet again. Our little tete a tete appeared over to me, so I stood up. "Thanks Mr Crum…ah Bill…I have to get back to work. I'll see you tomorrow evening then?"

"Yes, until tomorrow," Bill answered, and he leaned in and kissed me gently on the cheek. He put his hat back on and we trooped back downstairs. After bidding Mrs. O'Miley and Alice good evening, he left.

I marched over and picked up my iron like nothing had even happened. Alice was staring at me with eager eyes.

"Well?" she asked.

"Well what?" I answered.

"Is Mr. Crumpton your beau now?"

I really didn't want to talk about this too much in front of Mrs. O'Miley, but I had to answer Alice. "Well, we talked a little and we'll probably be spending some time together…I guess," I responded vaguely. "We're going out tomorrow night."

"Oh, Sookie, that's just wonderful! He's so handsome, and such a perfect gentleman even if he is a ….," and here she stopped before saying some word that wasn't allowed like "bootlegger".

"Don't forget your work still needs to be done tomorrow before any flitting around like you're fancy free," Mrs. O'Miley commented gruffly.

"Of course," I said. Alice and I gave each other a knowing look before going back to our ironing.

Alice and I went unaccosted that night. It looked like Bill was going to feed on us everything other night if this pattern kept up. So far, neither of us seemed to be showing any signs of being fed on too much. I felt fairly normal and Alice was her usual cheerful self. She hadn't displayed any lethargy or signs of anemia. We were working very hard, but we were also being fed pretty well with meals heavy in protein.

After what I had seen in the city, I could appreciate that the vampires were making the effort to take care of us. Or at least, Eric was making sure of it since I had trouble seeing Malcolm or Victor caring that much. I've met enough vampires to know that plenty of them see humans as on the same level as cows and wouldn't give a seconds thought to our needs or health. And I knew Eric well enough to know that this generous treatment wasn't due to being a nice guy, since well…he isn't. He wanted us healthy, providing blood, working hard, making him money and more importantly, loyal to him. I'd seen some headlines about labor disputes with various companies and some of them were violent and ugly. And these were the legitimate companies! I'm sure most bootleggers didn't give two shakes for the men working for them. All the men I'd dealt with so far were on the up and up and taking their jobs seriously. They were leery of Eric and his strange appearance and intimidated by his imperious manner, but they appreciated having a good paying job with meals and a clean bed to sleep in when so many people did not. If that wouldn't create loyalty, I don't know what would.

Once again, I was struck by the fact that if any of these people knew the truth, they'd probably still want these jobs. Being a vampire snack machine would be considered a small price to pay. I suddenly wondered if any of the vampires were feeding on Mrs. O'Miley as well? Would Bill be feeding on her or Eric? I tried to picture that, but it was just …..well….icky. Some things you just don't need to know.

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We had a very busy and efficient morning in the kitchen and Mrs. O'Miley ended up giving me some money in the little purse and sending me and Alice on some errands. We were also given permission to do a little shopping for ourselves which was expressed in the following manner. "Make sure you don't come back without gloves. There's no excuse for you tromping around like some migrant worker."

Alice was very excited to be included on my errand running and we practically burst out of the backdoor, desperate to escape Mrs. O'Miley's oppressive presence. It was another beautiful autumn day with a gorgeous blue sky and once again I got to see huge flocks of birds migrating south. The sky wasn't the only thing that was busy and we soon joined the hubbub going on in town. We took care of our errands first of course, and then went shopping.

Alice helped me pick out an appropriate, practical pair of gloves to wear every day. I decided on a tannish brown pair that buttoned with two little pearly type buttons, since they wouldn't show dirt the way white ones would. "Now you'll make Mrs. O'Miley happy," Alice announced. God bless Alice, the eternal optimist. I doubted anything could make Mrs. O'Miley happy, but held my tongue. The saleslady offered to wrap them up for me in nice printed paper, but I decided to wear them. All the women we were running into in town were wearing gloves and hats with their outfits. And believe it or not, people noticed that I wasn't wearing gloves and didn't approve. It was making me feel self conscious.

While we were in the women's clothing store, we checked out a few other things. I bought extra stockings ($1.00 for two pair), some underwear (equally as cheap), and looked at the various clothes items that I might need to purchase if I was here long enough. Winter coats had just arrived , so I took a gander at them. A winter coat would take a big chunk of my weekly pay, so I would hold off until it looked like I might need were having a sale on shoes and purses. I couldn't continue borrowing Mrs. O'Miley's purse, so I purchased one for $2.70. It had a muted brown, pattern to go with most of my clothing, a metal snap closure and a wrist strap. You've probably seen purses just like it hanging in the back of your grandmother's closets.

Alice already had some clothes in her little battered suitcase, but she needed stockings too and underwear so she spent the money. She was counting in her head and being careful about what she spent, since she was going to send half the money to her mama.

We stopped at the drugstore to pick up a couple things on The List and did some more shopping for ourselves. I was excited to purchase an honest to God toothbrush. It was plastic I think, but had an odd texture to it and believe it or not, it cost over a dollar! No wonder so many people lost their teeth in the old days. My toothpaste came in a tin (cost $.25 and it was the same brand I'd seen in Bill's bathroom) and it was actually powder that you mixed with water. I didn't care. The thought of being able to brush my scummy teeth nice and clean made me ecstatic. It doesn't take much to make me happy does it?

I was also relieved to see that sanitary pads were available since I couldn't remember how many days since my last period and this time travel thing had to be messing my cycle up. Unfortunately, the pads required a belt to hold them in place. They looked as uncomfortable as hell. I vaguely remembered my Aunt Linda joking with Gran about that one day.

Since I was going to be able to brush my teeth thoroughly that night(just the thought gave me happy goose bumps), and I wanted to display some gratitude towards Alice, I decided to buy us something at the soda fountain. That's right, this drugstore had an actual soda fountain with a soda jerk wearing the little stripped jack and hat to boot. Alice had helped me so much and I could honestly say that when I eventually time jumped out, she would be the one thing I truly would miss. She made me sorry I'd never had a sister. I knew she wouldn't spend her money on something so frivolous, but I could.

"Come on Alice," I said, linking my elbow into her arm and dragging her towards the counter.

"What?" she asked.

"We're going to have this young man make us something delicious and I'm treating," I pronounced with a "don't argue with me voice".

"But Sookie, you don't have to do that! Really, I'm not thirsty anyway," she argued weakly. She was lying. Alice was as thirsty as I was and she would love a soda fountain drink.

"No, I mean it," I countered. " You've helped me so much. If it wasn't for you, I probably wouldn't have been able to find out about this job, much less get it. Let me do something nice for you. It's no big thing…please?" I asked, squeezing her arm with as much sincerity as I could muster. I had meant every word I'd said.

Ten cents and a few arm jerks by Mr. Soda Fountain and we had some fizzing drinks sitting in front of us. They were delicious and just what Dr. Sookie ordered. Alice had ordered a cherry flavored drink and I had gotten one labeled Coca Cola. I was curious how different it might taste. We sat and giggled like old friends, observing the various people coming in and out and teasing the soda jerk guy a little (which he didn't mind at all).

I could almost forget that this wasn't my real life and none of this was permanent. Eventually, I was going to jump out of here (my optimistic side kept telling me cheerfully) and back to my own time. By then, all these or at least most of these people would be dead and this whole world would have changed. It was hard not to be grim about it. I had to remind myself that a lot of bad things were going on that were going to get better and the fact that these people (including Alice) were going to age and die was normal.

I hang around with vampires too much.

We finished our drinks, waved goodbye to the soda fountain guy and huffed it back to the house.

Amazingly, Mrs. O'Miley was happy enough about my gloves and surprised I'd spent my money on a purse for myself, that she forgot to give us the lollygagging speech.

Who says God doesn't do miracles anymore?

The rest of the day went pretty normally, with the usual hustle and bustle. Then when Alice and I were hanging out clothes on the line in the glow of the setting sun, Alice reminded me of my date with Bill.

"Maybe you should start getting ready?" she inquired.

"I don't even know what I'm wearing," I replied. "Bill said he would speak with Mrs. O'Miley about borrowing a dress from that closet."

"Ohhh, that would be swell ! I'll go ask her!" Alice chirped and she bounded back into the house before I had a chance to stop her.

After Alice applied her special touch to Mrs. O'Miley, I ended up in the big closet again. I let Alice help me dig around since she seemed to be enjoying the thought of me going out with Bill even more than I. I felt bad about her being stuck at home with Mrs. O'Miley.

I ended up in a dress of pale greens, muted oranges, mustard yellows, and brown colors I would normally never have pictured looking good on me. It had a couple thin strands of beading along the gathered edge that swayed when I walked. Alice talked me into it. That, and it was one of the dressy dresses that fit me well. Most of them were made for women with bodies like Alice, all skinny shoulders and not very generous in the bosom department. A green velvet shawl would keep me from being cold and also had some beading along its ends. I wore a pair of my new stockings and shoes in a satiny brown fabric. I carried my new purse, with some money and a handkerchief loaned by Alice.

She helped me get my hair up. It was parted on the side and pulled together in a twisty sort of bun on the left, rather than being centered. She used what seemed like a hundred hair pins and finished it with my Great grandmother's bone comb that had managed to survive the time leaps with me. We borrowed a little makeup from the women next door. So, I had some rouge on my cheeks and lipstick to avoid looking barefaced and blah.

When Bill called, he was surprised to find out that I was already dressed, primped and ready. Since it was going to be over an hour before he showed up, I put an apron on and helped Alice with the ironing to alleviate my guilt about going out. He walked in all pressed and polished, carrying a box of chocolates for Alice and Mrs. O'Miley which pleased them both to no end. Damn, Bill knows how to make a good impression doesn't he? I'd say it's a southern boy thing, but I've met enough southern boys who don't have this kind of savvy, so I'm going to go with it's a Bill talent.

I waved goodnight to Alice, allowing Bill to lead me outside on his arm. We weren't going in the Ford. This car had tons of gorgeous sloping chrome that practically glowed in the night and it appeared to be a dark green color. I slid into the leather seat and the scripted Cadillac name greeted me from the polished wood grain dashboard. The car exuded class and yes, I was impressed. This must be the Caddy that Eric had been talking about at the Halloween party. Bill had borrowed Daddy's car, how sweet.

When he got in and started the car, he leaned over. "You look beautiful," he said, and kissed me on the cheek.

"Thank you, " I answered. "You look nice too."

He pulled away smoothly and I felt much safer riding with him than with Sammy in the Ford. So, I managed to avoid compulsively pawing for a seatbelt that wasn't there.

"Where are we going first?" I asked to get the conversational ball rolling.

"We have several stops to make tonight, so we'll go to the diner first since I promised you dinner," Bill said. "I ate something with Mr. Blue when we were handling business earlier, so I'm not too hungry. I'll just have some coffee and a piece of pie I think."

"Oh"

"Please Sookie, I know you haven't eaten dinner yet, so make sure you eat something more substantial alright?" he urged, sounding regretful.

"Okay," I replied, trying to sound more upbeat.

"I plan on taking you around the dance floor plenty tonight, so make sure you eat enough to keep up your strength," he said playfully, as he reached over and gave my hand a squeeze.

"I will," I said, squeezing his hand back. I reminded myself that his "I ate earlier" story was just that, a story. The real reason was he didn't want to have to choke down real food that he'd have to regurgitate later (Bill had explained this to me when we were dating. I had been very sorry I'd asked).

We pulled up to one of those old fashioned diners you see in old photos and movies, with the long chrome counter and stools. "The Bridge Diner" was the name lit up in neon. The freckled waitress behind the counter smiled her biggest smile when she saw Bill walk in, then she lost some of it when my feet crossed the threshold.

She walked over with her little checkered dress, apron, and hat. Her heeled shoes made a click, clack noise on the linoleum tile. I would die if I had to wear shoes like that all night at Merlottes. It was bad enough wearing comfortable sneakers. She gave me her best fake smile as she handed over the menus.

"Your usual Bill?" she asked, just to show how cozy her and Bill were. It was all I could do to not roll my eyes. Just what I needed, another woman with a thing for Bill. They sprout everywhere, like fungus you can't get rid of.

"How are you doll?" Bill drawled. "Having a good night? Customers treating you right?"

"Hey, you know, a girl's gotta do what she can to get by," she answered knowingly. Honestly, if she started flirting with Bill, I was going to grab the New York Times sitting on the counter and start working the crossword puzzle just to show how bored I was. "What would you like this evening?" she asked, remembering she was supposed to be WAITING on us, thank you. The specials were hand written on a board on the wall hanging above the coffee machine.

"I'll just have coffee and pie," Bill answered. "And this lovely lady will have anything she'd like." He smiled and touched my hand lightly to make his point with Miss Freckles….oh sorry…her name was Betty according to her name tag.

They had a steak dinner for $.65, that's right sixty-five CENTS. It was the most expensive meal on the menu. I just had to order it for the sheer novelty. Not to mention, if Bill was going to keep chomping on my neck, he was going to pay to help replace my blood gosh darn it.

Betty clicked away to put the order in with the cook (wearing a natty white cap and jacket, thank you) , get me my coke and Bill his coffee.

Dinner was good, not gourmet good, but decent solid food. It reminded me of the Crawdad Diner in Bon Temps. My strip steak came with a side of veggies (peas and carrots), mashed potatoes, and some bread with butter. Bill and I made light conversation during dinner. He asked me about my daily routine with Mrs. O'Miley and how I got along with Alice. He told me a little about the places we were going to tonight.

If you weren't watching for it, it would have been really easy to not see what Bill was doing. He'd point out something outside the glass window and when I'd look back, his food and drink would be a little lower. I have a feeling he'd chosen this booth due to the large potted plant next to him. I feared being too relaxed since I might slip up and say something revealing. For example, when he got up to use the men's room, it was on the tip of my tongue to ask "what for?". When he came back, he was a little pinker and the man who'd gone in there ahead of him was not, so it was obvious he'd fed.

If you knew the kinds of things I did, you'd never enter another public restroom for the rest of your life.

Our total bill was approximately 85 cents. Bill left Betty $1.25, told her to keep the change and we were on our way. The first place we went to was in the center of the business district I'd been shopping in earlier that day with Alice. It was a brick building squeezed between two other buildings, called Roger's House Tavern and Inn. It was a white only establishment (the small sign outside announced this quite clearly) and seemed to have a mix of middle class types with some tourists. The white only part didn't apply to the entertainment, a single guy playing piano, nor the hired help behind the bar.

Bill and the owner had a slightly heated conversation in the back office, which consisted of the owner complaining about not receiving the additional shipment. To which Bill advised him if he paid his bills on time, he wouldn't have this problem. I was picking most of this up from the owner's agitated brain. He didn't want to run out of booze during racing season since this was when he made most of his yearly income. Bill lectured him regarding paying bills on time and Eric's new rules for him about paying in advance. The guy squeaked a little over this, but there wasn't much he could say since he knew he was in the wrong. He was thinking that he might go with a different supplier, but none of them provided the quality of product that Eric did. Another bar owner he knew had purchased cheaper alcohol elsewhere and a couple of his customers had ended up in the hospital after drinking it.

I was glad when Bill emerged and we moved along to the next venue, which turned out to be The Bayou Hotel I'd been hearing so much about. It was perched in an elevated open expanse with a sweeping view of the water. In the dim lights, I could make out a moderately wide 4 story stone building with a curved portico in front for the guests to exit their vehicles and hand keys to the hustling valets. It looked small to my modern eyes, but compared to the other hotels I'd seen in town, it was very large. Bill explained it had a large brick patio in the back and a long path led down the hill to an indoor pool house with a heated pool! It wasn't hard to figure out the elite of the town's visitors would be staying here. I double checked my stockings and dabbed my lipstick before getting out of the car.

When we walked inside, I was glad I had made the effort to look presentable. The men were all as pressed and polished as Victor on his best night and the women clustered together like colorful peacocks. Their feathered headdresses, beaded dresses and jewelry that was most definitely not costume glittered in the soft light of the curved chandeliers.

And every single one of them had a drink in one hand and usually a cigarette in the other. The swirls of smoke cascaded around the softly lit globes like they were dancing to romantic music. And while the clientele was definitely lily white (no need for a sign on the door of this hotel, no indeed), much of the entertainment and hired help was in the colored category. The waiter's dark faces contrasted with the white jackets and gloves they wore as they efficiently moved about the room with their trays dispensing various drinks to the patrons.

The only service type people that weren't black I noticed were women going around with those wooden trays with the straps around their necks. You know, the ones who say "cigars,candy, cigarettes?" that you see in old movies? They were all young, pretty white women with cute little bob haircuts and some kind of semi French maid looking outfits (minus the apron), with flashy heels. I wondered if they got a regular paycheck or commissions on what they sold.

Then a tall guy, who I swear looked just like Ricardo Montalban from Fantasy Island (you know, the old tv show with Tattoo?) and wearing a white suit with black tie to boot, came over to Bill and I.

"Mr. Crumpton! It's a delight to see you this evening," he greeted him effusively. "Mr. Blue is already here discussing business on the back patio with the mayor and several dignitaries from Washington DC." He wasn't exactly quiet about stating all this, since he wanted nearby patrons to overhear and realize how important this establishment was. "And who is this lovely young lady?" he asked, turning his observing gaze upon me, noticing immediately that I wore no jewelry, nor a fashionably short haircut like most of the women here.

"This is my friend, Sookie Norris," Bill said. "Sookie, this is the hotel manager, Richard Monterey." That wasn't his real name. His real first name was, in fact Ricardo (what are the odds?), but he didn't want people to know he was half Puerto Rican, so he changed it. Ah well, none of my business. I smiled back at him pleasantly and shook his hand.

"Please, let me arrange some refreshment for you," he said and he snapped his fingers at one of the waiters to scurry over. Bill and I both took a cocktail glass each off the little silver tray. "This is our signature autumn drink, courtesy of your Mr. Blue. It's especially popular with the ladies, I hope you'll enjoy it and have a good evening." And with that, he gave a little bow to us and moved off to schmooze and tend to his other guests.

I was a little nervous about drinking it, since it was in fact…you know...moonshine that had probably been cooked up a couple days ago. Oddly enough, I thought I could smell apples and cinnamon around the very powerful alcohol scent. I don't drink hard liquor ever, so I took a very tiny sip.

Wow, it was very strong, but it kind of reminded me of …apple pie of all things I noticed an apple peel floating in the glass.

"What do you think?" Bill asked expectantly.

"It reminds me of apple pie a little bit," I ventured, glancing at him to see if he'd laugh at me.

"That's because we used apples to make it." Hah! I'd been right. Eric WAS getting apples on special. And speaking of Eric, we spotted him on the outside patio talking with a few well to do types. He had noticed us entering of course and nodded in Bill's direction, so we slowly worked our way over.

He was wearing his usual dark blue suit, his blond hair tied back and tucked in his collar, and the tinted glasses. That, combined with his height definitely made him stand out as odd. He wasn't drinking like the others, but he was smoking which was the first time I'd seen Eric do that. After putting out his butt in a nearby ashtray, he smoothly drew a gleaming gold cigarette case(monogrammed with a giant 'E', no joke) out of his breast pocket, pulled out the cigarette, offered it to the gray haired portly man he was speaking to, then lit it with a matching lighter. It was so beautifully choreographed it could have been from a James Bond movie.

It was weird. Eric doesn't smoke since smoking tobacco didn't become popular in Europe for hundreds of years after he was Turned. The only vampires I've ever seen smoking were smokers when they were alive. What does that tell you about the addictiveness of tobacco that it follows you into your undead eternity? The tobacco companies loved it. Since the vampires couldn't die from their product, they could advertise as much as they wanted in vamp publications.

"Hello Mayor, "Bill said to the portly man Eric was speaking with.

"Hello Mr. Crumpton," the Mayor greeted. He had a whiskey glass in his hand and by the looks of his cheeks, it wasn't his first. No wonder Eric was able to brew hooch so openly. He had the Mayor on his side. "I was just telling your Mr. Blue here over breakfast yesterday, that if he keeps making genuine product like this, everyone will be too relaxed to vote in November."

Bill smiled in response. Breakfast? How could? Ah…the man actually believed it. No wonder no one questioned not seeing the vampires during the day. They were glamouring people into believing that they had. That was clever.

"Could you give us a moment, Mayor?" Eric asked. He drew Bill and I away a few feet. "I need to speak with you about a couple things," Eric said somberly to Bill. "But first, I think I'll take a turn around the dance floor with your date." He smiled down at me.

"Where's Gertrude?" Bill asked, a little stiffly.

"Upstairs resting in a room I rented for a private party later. She's drunk…again,"he explained with an annoyed tone of voice. I was a little bumme d, since I still couldn't remember what the mysterious Gertrude looked like.

Bill nodded and reluctantly let go of my hand. I took another stiff sip of my drink. Gosh damn this stuff was hardcore. I needed to be careful or it would catch up with me later. Eric put his hand at my waist, I put my hands up along his arms and we were off.

The band was very good. They were playing some smooth almost jazzy kind of tunes with a little more pep and the clarinet player was getting a solo. Eric is a decent dancer, especially for being such a tall guy. I was still holding my drink in one hand and my purse was hanging off my other wrist. We were going slowly and smoothly enough that the remainder of my drink stayed in the little glass.

"Are you enjoying your evening so far? He asked me, his eyes steadily observing me from behind the silly glasses.

"Yes, I am," I responded. "Are you?"

"Being able to successfully mix business and pleasure is always the sign of a triumphant evening as far as I'm concerned," he smiled. Yeah, that was Eric alright. If he was human they could have put that on his headstone: successfully mixed business with pleasure.

"That's nice."

"And how are you and Bill getting along?" he asked, his mouth quirking a bit.

"Just fine," I answered breezily, taking another sip of my drink. The appley liquid was going down easier now.

We moved across the crowded floor smoothly, since of course Eric could see above most of the heads. "Dancing with you is very easy," he commented. Of course, I'd danced with Eric before which was helping me follow his lead.

"I like to dance," I commented, which was true.

"I love a woman who knows how to move her body," Eric observing me slyly for a reaction.

It seemed safer to not answer and I kept my telepath game face on. Judging from the expression on Bill's face, as he watched us, he'd definitely heard what Eric had said. I took another sip of my drink and lo and behold, the glass was empty! Well, not to fear though because one of the white jacketed waiters swiftly approached me and offered me another. These glasses were pretty small, so it didn't seem a big deal to take another one.

The song had ended and the band was taking a short break, so Eric handed me back to Bill. While circling the dance floor, I had noticed a sign for restrooms, so I excused myself while the two vampires clustered close and spoke in low tones. I hoped there wasn't going to be any trouble.

The women's restroom was a joy to behold. It was modern with tile floors, hot and cold water taps, flush toilets, and decent toilet paper. I wanted to stay in there all night. I also wanted to keep playing with the hot water tap since our house only had cold, but the bathroom attendant sat watching me after she handed me a real towel to dry my hands. Fortunately, I had stashed a little cash into my new purse, and I stuffed a dollar bill into the tip jar on the ledge above the sinks which made her eyes bug out. I forgot how much a dollar was here. She probably would have been happy with a nickel.

Sadly, I had to leave the wonderful ladies restroom and troop back to Bill. I don't know how this happened, but my glass had gotten empty again. The glasses really were small compared to modern day glasses, seriously. And I was drinking in tiny sips. I was totally positive. One of the very helpful waiters swooped in and swapped my glass for a fresh one. It was going down smoothly now. I wondered if I could get the recipe from Eric. There were old timers in Bon Temps who still made their own booze. I bet they'd love this.

While I worked my way through the crowd, I had a tickling feeling of being watched. Not the general type of watching that was going on at this party (women judging my clothes, men wondering if I was with anyone). These odd vibes were coming from two men standing at the hotel bar wearing the ubiquitous dark suits, nursing their drinks. I couldn't read them clearly since they weren't strong broadcasters and I was keeping my shields clamped down while in this crowd.

Taking my tiny sips, I found Eric and Bill outside, on the dark lawn away from everyone else having what appeared to my eyes, to be a slightly heated discussion.

"…..and I want you to personally check on him,"Eric said as I walked up.

"Isn't he Victor's responsibility?" Bill asked, sounding a bit put out.

"I need you to do it," Eric said meaningfully.

Bill stared at Eric for a moment."I see," Bill replied. "I'll take care of it then." Eric nodded and both vampires turned as I approached.

"We were about to send out a search party," Eric quipped. He had his gold cigarette case out, a fresh one balanced between his lips and was holding the case out to Bill. Bill just shook his head.

"Not tonight."

The beautiful case was extended out to me. I shook my head also. Eric shrugged and lit his own, clicked his shiny lighter shut and slid it back into his pocket. We stood quietly for a moment, gazing out across the dark lawn towards the vast expanse of water of which only tiny glimmers were visible. Smoke from Eric's mouth lazily drifted around us before disappearing into the night. Bill had taken my hand and slid it around his elbow, which was fine. Eric glanced down at me with a mildly amused expression, although for a fraction of a second…I almost thought I saw my Eric. The Eric who let me see little glimpses of vulnerability from time to time, the man buried underneath a thousand years of vampire survival. Then his confident mask was back in place like it hadn't happened.

One of the white jacket waiters came up to Eric. "Sir? There's a phone call for you at the front desk." Eric nodded and followed him. Bill rubbed my hand curled around his arm.

"I apologize for Mr. Blue's crudeness earlier. Sometimes, he forgets to mind himself when ladies are present," Bill said. Ha! Eric never "forgot" to mind himself. If he was crude, it was because he intended to be or didn't care. There was nothing forgetful about it.

"Don't worry about it," I replied, giving his arm a squeeze. I took another tiny sip from the little cocktail glass.

"Well, Isaiah is here," Eric's voice announced as he strolled back up."Sookie, I'll need to borrow Bill for a moment."

"Help yourself," I retorted, taking another itsy bitsy sip. Bill patted my arm in a reassuring way, like I wouldn't be able to handle myself without his presence for 5 minutes. It was all I could do to not roll my eyes.

Then I felt that tickling again. Tiny goosebumps going up my neck and it wasn't from the cool air blowing gently off the Cheasapeake Bay. Glancing around the carefully dressed and coiffed partygoers, I saw that the men I'd seen at the bar were now outside. They saw me, but were looking around like they wondered where Eric and Bill were. Since I was drinking and this was a party, I really didn't want to let my shields slip too much. But these guys were beginning to concern me, so I decided to check it out. I strolled past them to a table set up outside with silver trays of tiny snacks on them…excuse me… hor 'deurves. I picked one that the white jacket waiter pointed out as tasty and strolled back. I managed to "trip" when I got next to them and one of the guys automatically grabbed me to keep me from falling. When his sweaty hand touched my skin, I realized my concern was warranted. He was looking for a chance to take out Eric and maybe Bill too! What was he? Like a mafia hitman or something? Would he really gun down someone at this nice party?

"You alright miss?"he said, trying to sound like he cared. His squinty eyes peered at me.

"I'm fine and I'm only going to say this once," I said, without hesitation. "Don't even think about it."

"Huh? Wha ….?"

"I know what you're planning and don't even think about it. You won't survive the night if you do," I threatened. What the hell was I doing?

It was entirely possible I may have had a bit too much of the tiny apple pie cocktails. I couldn't stop talking.

"I mean it. You need to leave town and don't come back." Who was I now? Wyatt Earp? The expression on the two men's faces was almost funny, they were so shocked at being threatened by a tipsy woman in a borrowed dress.

Mr. Squinty eyes collected himself. "I don't think you know what you're saying there miss…."

"Yes, I do," I continued, like an idiot. "But if you want to die tonight and end up feeding the fishes and the crabs over there…." I gestured towards the huge expanse of dark water with my tiny snack." You go right ahead, good night gentlemen." And then I marched back over to the mayor, hoping these guys weren't crazy enough to gun down the town's highest official. The mayor turned to me with a friendly smile and a welcoming hand into the little group he was discussing the upcoming elections. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the two men having a heated conversation, then they went back into the hotel. Hopefully, they were leaving.

I wasn't sure where my sudden outburst had come from. Even though I knew bullets wouldn't kill Eric, the end result would be the collapse of our little organization. If he was shot point blank in front of people and didn't die….that would be a problem. He and the vampires would have to leave town and all of us humans would be left behind without jobs or a place to go. So, I guess I was defending Eric …kind of…maybe…but I was looking out for all us humans too.

And the booze had probably helped a little too.

To my relief, Bill came gliding back through the crowd.

"I'm sorry I was gone so long. We have some business associates visiting from out of town and they'll be staying here".

I debated whether to tell him about what had happened. How would I explain knowing the assassin's plan? I guess I could say I overheard it, right? Eric and Bill had to know, so they could be on their guard. Otherwise, they could get gunned down in the parking lot. With my luck, they'd miss them and hit me. I've already been shot once. It hurts like the seven shades of hell and I don't want to ever experience it again. So, I took a deep breath and said," Bill? I need to tell you something." I proceeded to tell Bill that I had "overheard" the two men at the bar, plotting to kill Eric."

He was suitably serious as he listened, only asking a couple questions for clarification. "Come," he said. "We'll need to tell Eric immediately." He led me back towards the front desk of the hotel, where Eric was standing with a small group of well to do's, a valet and lots of luggage, complete with big steamer trunks. He tapped Eric lightly on the shoulder. "I need to speak with you," he said, his voice low and urgent.

Eric caught the hint and said,"Isaiah, I'll be back in a moment."

Isaiah was a tall man and was wearing a wool coat with a massive fur collar and a fedora with fur trim, turned around. It was all I could do to not stand and gape at him.

It was the vampire King of Kentucky himself.

I had met him at Rhodes. He'd been courting Sophia Anne a bit. He was smart as a whip and cautious. He'd hired these not from this dimension elite warriors called the Britledgens to protect him and he'd been the only vampire to make it out of the Rhodes hotel explosion without a scratch. If you ask me, he would have made a better husband than her previous one, the weasely Peter Threadgill , the former King of Arkansas. If her companion Andre hadn't talked her out of it, she might have accepted Isaiah's attentions and he would have watched her back while she was regrowing her destroyed legs. Then, the takeover of Louisiana would never have happened and …why was I bothering to think about this stuff? No use crying over spilt milk, or dead vampires in this case.

"Is there a problem?" he asked with his overly done Kentucky twang. You had to hand it to him. He knew how to fit in. I didn't know his last name or if he was one of those vampires (like Eric) who were so old that they'd never had a last name until they had to make one up for dealings with humans. I wondered if he was already a King or something else.

"Just a minor item to discuss with Mr. Blue," Bill assured him. Bill drew Eric and I further down a hallway, near the servants area while a valet showed the little group to the elevator. Now that I was paying attention, I noticed one other void besides Kentucky's in their group. So, that means there are now six vampires in town. It seemed prudent to keep track.

"Yes?" Eric asked impatiently, with a come hither gesture.

"Sookie, go ahead, tell him what you heard," Bill said.

Both sets of eyes stared at me as I began my little white lie all over again. Eric's were especially serious. His narrow slits of blue bored into my head, even from behind the tinted glasses. He asked a couple questions like Bill had done, but appeared to believe me. He wasn't shocked nor surprised at someone wanting him dead. What does that tell you?

"Thank you for this information and your discretion. I appreciate that," Eric commented, his face thoughtful as he observed me. "I think you and Bill should continue your date. I'll contact one of the others to look into this information," he continued, as he gave Bill a look. Bill nodded and started to steer me out of the hotel. That meant Victor or Malcolm was going to be on these guys trail shortly. I almost felt sorry for them.

"Um, are you going to be okay?" I asked. It was silly being worried about Eric, but there it was.

Eric looked startled at first, then he smiled widely," You're concerned about me aren't you? How sweet. Don't worry yourself Miss Norris, this matter will be sorted out before the end of the night." Those guys will be swimming with the fishes he meant.

There wasn't much else to say, so I gave my empty glass to one of the waiters and followed Bill out of the hotel. Once the valet brought our car around and we climbed in, Bill spoke. "Mr. Blue values loyalty greatly. And it was a smart thing to do, not announcing this information to anyone else. Your discretion will be appreciated." He sounded proud of me, as he squeezed my left hand.

I hadn't told them about my threatening the would be assassin. I had a feeling they wouldn't consider that discreet or smart. If I hadn't had so many of those tiny little drinks, I probably wouldn't have done it to begin with.

We drove maybe ten blocks, then Bill pulled into an empty space on the side of the street. There was a marina next to us. A few spotlights shined on the various boats bobbing up and down next to the docks. He helped me out of the car and we walked, arm and arm, to our next destination.

We could hear it before we turned the corner. The partying sounds were coming from a two story building that reminded me of the buildings you see in French Quarter of New Orleans. It looked like an older building, even by 1930's standards, and had a 2nd story porch that wrapped completely around the upper level. All it needed was the black ironwork supports to capture the New Orlean's look. The doors and windows were open with lively music and raucous laughter pouring out.

"It's called The Ordinary," Bill explained. A couple men who appeared to be security because they were carefully watching passing cars and us approaching, waved to Bill.

"Mr. Crumpton! How de do, sir! What brings you to our little juke joint this fine evening?"His large white teeth shone like ivory against his dark complexion. Both men were wearing suits that appeared to be less conservative than most of the men I'd seen at the Bayou. Even in the dim light under the porch overhang, I could see brighter colors and patterns on their carefully tailored suits.

I was surprised to realize that his friendliness towards Bill wasn't a put on. As he and Bill made small talk, I probed just a little since I was still nervous about the hit man I'd run into at the hotel. They were ecstatic that Eric had decided to sell them the extra shipment, because wealthy negros from Philadelphia and DC had come into town for the races and were happy to spend their money on good booze. Normally, they'd be charged twice as much as white owned bars for rot gut bathtub gin, but they felt Eric gave them a fair shake. Apparently Victor and Malcolm gave them the jitters, but they liked Bill. He talked to them plainly and he didn't disrespect their women. Bill's manners bought him good karma everywhere he went it seemed.

I found it more than a little ironic that a vampire who had grown up surrounded by negro slaves, now treated their descendents better than their current day white human counterparts. This was yet another historical messy American issue that I had to ignore.

Now that I realized these men were exactly what they appeared to be, I put on my nicest smile. Bill made introductions. "Sookie, this is Leon." Not thinking, I stuck my hand out. After a tiny hesitation, and a glance at Bill, he shook it. His buddy was Benjamin, "Everyone calls me Benny".

"This is my friend Sookie Norris," Bill said, his hand lightly resting upon my back.

"Please, call me Sookie," I added. Leon and Benny gave each other a puzzled look and gestured for us to go inside the club. I had said something wrong, but I wasn't sure what it was. There was this whole weird social black/white interaction set of rules that I was having trouble grasping. I gave Bill a quick glance as we walked into the club and he had his "thinking" face on, which spelled trouble for me. I needed to keep my mouth shut. If the booze I had drunk earlier would start wearing off, then that might become easier.

Even with the coolness outside and all the shutters open, it was warm inside from all the bodies. The place was packed. There was a band on a tiny raised platform at the end of the big room. A skinny guy with a trumpet was doing a solo. The dance floor was a moving mass of people. It was amazing everyone could dance in a space this tight. Ledges lined the entire place for people to put their drinks, rest smoldering cigarettes in tiny ashtrays etc. We had come in next to the bar that had the requisite wood expanse with stools lined up. Even though just about everyone in here was black(there were a few people on the other side of the room who could have been white or Hispanic), there seemed to be a wider variety of social classes. Some of them definitely had money, judging by the swanky suits and the dresses and hair ornaments their women were wearing. Others looked more like they had carefully put together the best they had, which wasn't great.

But it didn't make any difference because everyone was having a kick butt good time and judging by the amount of drinking going on, someone was making money. Bill and I strolled up to the bar. A tall black man with skin so dark he was almost a shadow greeted us. He was wearing a natty carefully pressed shirt, tie, and a colorful vest. He also had a gun strapped to himself with one of those shoulder harness things. I guess he wasn't just the bartender.

"Mr. Crumpton! How are you this evening sir?" he bellowed out over the trumpet player. I realized I recognized his voice. He was the man I'd spoken to on the phone when I had called for Sammy.

"Very well, "Bill replied. "How's business, Richie? Is that extra shipment moving for you?"

Richie smiled happily. "If the customers keep coming in like they are, there will be no problem selling it. You let Mr. Blue know that he can send any additional product my way. I'd be happy to sell it!"

"I'll be sure to do so," Bill answered loudly.

"Would either of you care for a drink?"

Bill glanced down at me. I had already had enough alcohol to potentially get myself in trouble, so I shook my head. "Not right now, Richie, thank you," Bill said and led me away. I felt very conspicuous as Bill and I moved through the crowd. Various dancers glanced at us as we made our way to one of the windows where the shutters were open. The cool air coming in was a relief. I set my little purse down on the ledge, slid off my shawl, and put it on top of the purse.

Bill smiled at me," Are you ready to dance now?"

"Yes"

He took my hand and led me into the heated crush of people. To give you an indication of how warm this place was, Bill's hand was no longer as cool as it normally is. His body was absorbing some of the heat in the room.

I couldn't remember the last time I'd danced with Bill. By Rhodes we weren't really speaking….actually I wasn't speaking to him. Definitely before Jackson sometime…a party perhaps..maybe at Fangtasia or something in Bon Temps. I bothered me that the memory wasn't there. But the rest of me did remember. He slid his arm around me and we clasped hands and off we went around the dance floor. If Bill had been human, we would have been bumping into the other gyrating humans. But instead, we moved quickly around the dance floor, avoiding near collisions right and left. I could feel various other body parts, dress hems, and jacket tails brushing past me as we spun to the energetic music. After a couple minutes, everyone else was ignoring us which was good as far as I was concerned.

It may sound strange, but my telepathy is easier to deal with when people are listening to music. Their brains take a vacation and they're so into the music that they don't have the conscious thoughts that bleed over and infiltrate my head day after day. It's almost like they stop thinking. Haven't you ever felt that while dancing? You just lose yourself and all conscious thought stops?

That's how I was feeling and after a few minutes I was just going with the flow. Forgetting for a little while that I was trapped in another time period that I didn't belong in, I just let myself go and followed Bill's lead. Everything was a whirlwind of colorful dresses, laughing mouths, be bopping music, and Bill's hands holding me close. Fortunately, for my heart, the band decided to do a few slow tunes. A woman in a intensely green shimmery dress and sparkly hat that fit close to her head, stepped up on stage. I recognized the song they were doing. It was the one I had heard on the radio two nights before. She had a voice that could only be described as smoky (which went with the atmosphere in here), singing about the lost love of her life.

My body and Bills pressed together as his one arm was wrapped around me. We moved together like we'd been doing it forever and always would. His face pressed against mine and my arm tightly draped over his broad shoulder. I had missed this more than I realized. My Bill.

He pulled his face away a little and those dark eyes with depths that I'd never been able to discern stared into mine. I don't know how it happened, but suddenly we were kissing. And it was better than my dream.

The warm room, the packed bodies, the smoky air, the dancing and Bill's kissing combined to make me feel a little woozy. I needed some air.

"Would you like to go outside for a moment?" Bill asked, having picked up on my potential swoon. I nodded and he led me across the dance floor. We gathered up my little purse and shawl and went out the back door and around the side of the building, under the second story porch overhang. My sweaty body's reaction to being outside in the cool air was initially relief, but I pulled the shawl around me to prevent feeling clammy. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine," I answered, letting him keep his arm wrapped around me, I leaned into him a little. We stood there quietly for a moment, leaning against the clapboards with the vibration of the music and the dancers coming through the boards.

"Are you having a nice time tonight?"

"Yes"

"Good, I'm glad." Bill nuzzled my head a little, and softly kissed my forehead.

We heard a throat clearing coming from the bushes at the end of the porch. "Ahem, I'm sorry to interrupt." And Eric stepped from the shadows.

"What is going on?" Bill asked, straightening up and giving his boss an annoyed look.

"We need to talk for a moment."

Bill nodded," Wait here Sookie. I'll be right back."

"Actually, she needs to come too," Eric said.

Puzzled, Bill and I followed Eric past the bushes and into a large lot on the other side. It looked like the remnants of someone's summer garden, a big one. Once we were alone, Eric turned and addressed me," Why did you lie to me, Miss Norris?"

My mouth dropped open a little and my slightly still drunken brain tried to think of any specific lies I had told Eric, you know, besides the obvious unspoken ones.

Bill jumped in," What is the meaning of this?"

"She knows," Eric responded, his face covered in shadows from a tree that hadn't quite lost all its leaves yet. "Answer me…now."

"I don't know what you mean," I said, reminding myself that people telling the truth keep a steady gaze on the person they're talking to. I returned Eric's look back at him with my shoulders squared and straight.

"Yes, you do….why did you tell me you had overheard the men at the bar plotting against me?"

"Because I did…"

"No, you did not," Eric snapped. "One of those men works for me. He keeps an eye on those who might try to come after me or damage my organization. He says you couldn't have heard anything at the bar, because they didn't discuss coming after me at the bar." He must have been the other guy. I should have taken the time to read both of them and I would have known this already .

"Well, he's mistaken. How else could I have known ?" I insisted.

"You would if you're involved in some way," he said dangerously. Oh boy, I was in real trouble now. If Eric thought I was plotting to kill him…..

"Eric, how is that possible?" Bill asked. "She just got here and …"

"Did you know she's from Bon Temps?" Eric interrupted. "Why didn't you inform me that she was from the same town you are from. Don't you find that strange?"

Bill was silent for a moment. "She told me she was from Hotshot, Louisiana. But I still fail to see how this matters. "

Eric's face lit up in a way that I knew was ominous for me. "Bill, when was the last time you were in Louisiana?"

"It's been a very long time…perhaps not since I originally left."

"Hotshot is a settlement of two families of shifters, panthers to be exact, so she cannot be from there." It boded very badly for me that Eric was dropping contractions right and left.

It was time to go on the offensive. "So what?" I declared. " So what if I lied about where I'm from? I'm trying to make a life for myself and it's really nobody's business where I've lived. And I don't know what your guy is thinking, but he's mistaken. I DID hear them at the bar!" I crossed my arms and looked as annoyed and put out as possible.

Bill stepped in again, God bless him. "Eric, this sound like conjecture and speculation to me…I can't believe that you would…."

"Bill," Eric interrupted. "Are you even paying attention?"

"What do you mean?"

"She did not even react when I said "shifter," he said. His big body was completely still and he was watching my every twitch and fidget. I tried to stay as still as possible. " Has she asked you any questions about why she cannot see you during the day?"

"No"

"Has she asked you any questions about your family, or where you are from..anything like that?"

"Well….no"

Eric seemed to make a decision and turned towards Bill. "That is it. I warned you and I cannot put the rest of us at risk. She cannot work for us."

What? He was firing me? Where was I going to go? What was I going to do?

"Mr. Blue, can't we talk about this a little. I don't understand why you're so upset. I'm telling you the truth," I insisted.

"No, you are not," Eric replied flatly. "Mr. Crumpton will be taking you for a little ride and we will send your things along."

"But…but…." I stammered.

"Goodbye, Miss Norris." Eric turned and walked away without hesitation. His mind was made up and that was that.

I wasn't sure who was more stunned, me or Bill. After a few moments, Bill shook himself, grasped my arm and pulled me further away from the club.

"Bill?"

"Follow me Sookie," he murmured, his voice resigned. I dragged my feet a little. "Come along now, don't make a fuss."

"Bill, you believe me don't you? Can't you talk to Mr. Blue and make him change his mind?."

"Mr. Blue never changes his mind once it is made up. I'm sorry Sookie."

I trudged along after Bill, back into the street where our car had been parked. I didn't know what I was going to do. It depended on where Bill was taking me. Would I time jump out? Could I if I was separated from Eric and Bill? How did all this work anyway?"

While my mind was racing and trying to come up with where I was going to sleep, what was I going to eat, what on earth was Alice going to think….I didn't notice that we weren't going back to the car. We turned down some kind of driveway that crunched under my feet. I looked down and in the dim street lights it looked white. "What are those?" I asked lamely, trying to make Bill talk to me.

"Crushed clam shells."

"Oh, that's a good idea," I said.

We were heading into the marina. It was very quiet, the only sounds were the water lapping up against the dock posts and boats bumping a little. Puzzled, I followed Bill down the dock to a small outboard boat. He gestured for me to get in. It was one of those wooden boats that you rarely see anymore because they cost so much more than fiberglass, and need more maintenance. I sat on the bench along the side and Bill sat at the stern.

"Where are we going?" I asked. "Can't I go back to the house and get my things first? Come on Bill, Eric won't know and I need my clothes!"

"Your possessions will be forwarded along," Bill said quietly, and he pulled the cord and started the motor. His voice sounded odd.

I huddled miserably and pulled my shawl around me tightly. As we pulled away from the dock and the friendly lights on shore, the wind picked up and it got much colder. This didn't bother Bill of course, but I rubbed my arms, hoping we'd get to our destination quickly. I assumed we were going across the river to one of the other towns there, although why we weren't taking the car over the bridge was beyond me. Maybe they didn't want to pay the toll, cheap vampires.

It got darker and colder and my mind drifted a little, back to the conversation I'd had with Eric. I had made him suspicious and he wasn't taking any chances. He was paranoid and seeing enemies everywhere, even a nonthreatening woman like me. At least he wasn't having me killed….wait a minute. What was it he had said?

"Take her for a ride….." The gangster movie's I'd watched with Jason…wasn't what they said when they were taking someone out to be executed?

I was shaking now and it wasn't just from the cold. I suddenly knew, to my core that Bill was taking me out into this massive dark expanse of water to kill me and dispose of me. By the time anyone found my body (IF they found it) , I'd be all chewed up by crabs and bottom feeding scavenger fish. I squinted and looked around the boat for a weapon, anything I could use to kill Bill. The moon's light was going in and out as the clouds drifted past the moon's face, so I couldn't see very well. I couldn't fight Bill. I was going to have to try and convince him.

Up until now, I'd been making an effort to not let anyone know who and where, when I was from….since I was assuming I could alter history or something bad would happen if I did so. I also figured they would just lock me up, thinking I was crazy.

But this was do or die, so it was time to blab.

"Bill! Don't' do this! Please, I won't tell anyone anything I promise!" I said, checking his reaction.

"I'm sorry Sookie. We can't take that chance and Mr. Blue won't take that chance." The boat kept puttering along. Bill kept his hand on the rudder, steering and not even looking at me.

"Bill, I know you like me, how can you do this?"

"I've pledged myself to Eric. I have to follow orders."

"Stop being such a damn good soldier! Why can't you think outside the box sometimes? You're one of the smartest vampires I've ever met. You don't have to do this!"

The boat drifted to a stop. Bill's head turned towards me. I couldn't really make out his face, but I knew he could see mine. "How did you know?"

"I've known all along," I answered. Now wasn't the time for holding back, so I plunged ahead. "This should give you more reason to not do this. You know I can be trusted. I haven't told anyone else have I? Isn't it useful having a human to do things for you?"

"Yes, why didn't you tell us this before?"

" I was afraid and I just wanted a job." Boy, was this true.

"We can't trust you," he said and he revved the motor back up. The vampires can't trust ME? That was rich.

The lights on the shore were becoming dimmer and dimmer. It was time to really go for it. "Bill! The reason I couldn't tell you the truth is because I am from the future. I know you and Eric in the future."

The boat stopped again. This was killing me.

"What?" Bill asked, his voice curious. "What are you saying?"

"I was attacked by a fairy back home in Bon Temps…the Bon Temps in the future. And somehow I was zapped backwards in time..I don't know how or why. I just want to go home. But I've been running into you and Eric repeatedly…I think…I think it's because I've had your blood and his. "

Bill's glowing form was still. I could practically hear the little gears in his head grinding around. "You know about fairies too…." He murmured. Then his tone changed, "You saw the books on my desk. You're mocking me. You think I'm foolish and would fall for such a ridiculous story." He sounded angry and almost hurt. He started the boat up again, we took a turn and kept chugging along.

"NO! Bill, I'm not making fun of you! I know you hate being teased. Believe it or not, we're friends in the future…very good friends. We used to be together, but you were called by Lorena and…"

"How did you know about Lorena?" He demanded. The boat stopped again. I was ready to tear my hair out from this back and forth. I was so scared and panicking. The thought of being pushed into this dark, cold water to drown all alone….tears were pushing themselves out and creating hot little trails down my cheeks. Bill just had to listen!

"I told you! Lorena called you and you went to her. You were going to stay with her willingly because she was threatening to hurt me if you didn't." Bill had told me this afterward, but I had been so hurt I hadn't really listened. I only just now realized the sacrifice Bill had been making , staying with a horrible Maker to protect me.

"I would NEVER agree to stay with Lorena willingly, NEVER," Bill insisted. "I spent years trying to get away from her. I would never EVER go back!" Now, even his voice was almost shaking. I had him shook up. Good.

We sat still for a moment.

Then he continued, " How did this end? Are you saying I'm trapped with her still in the future? That I never escape that woman's clutches?" He sounded despondent and the tragedy in his voice almost made me want to cry if I wasn't worried about being murdered any second.

"No…no Bill…," I said. " I insisted on rescuing you and Eric went along to help."

"Eric helped?" Bill sounded like he didn't believe that. Well, I couldn't blame him.

"Yes, you were doing a job for a more powerful vampire and Eric was going to be punished if he couldn't find you, so he helped."

Bill's dark head nodded. This sounded more plausible to him.

"What job was I doing?" he asked curiously.

Boy, I was really screwing with the future now. "You were building a database of vampires. You had compiled a massive database of every vampire in America and even ones overseas. It has everything about them, their makers, children, powers, ties to others, where they live, alias …all kinds of stuff. You did all the work by yourself and spent years doing it."

"You mean, like an encyclopedia?" he asked. How could I explain computers to Bill?

"Yes," I agreed. "Like an encyclopedia. You have photos and drawings ..all kinds of history stuff. No other vampire had thought of doing it and it gave you a means to make lots of money for yourself and the vampire you were working for," I added proudly. I had done nothing but complain when he had been working so hard to meet a deadline for Queen Sophia Anne. Not once, had I ever told him I was proud of his accomplishment. What the hell was wrong with me? Why hadn't I ever told him that? Why was this just occurring to me now?

Bill sat silently for a few more moments. "How could you know?" he murmured softly." I've never told anyone that I have been keeping notes on various vampires I've met. That project…that sounds like a great idea….it would be so useful to other vampires..and…"he stopped again, obviously thinking about what a great idea a vampire database was. He shifted in the boat. "Why? Why would I sacrifice so much for you? Why would I do this? Are we lovers?"

Boy, this was getting complicated. How do I explain my relationship with Bill? "We were….lovers," I responded carefully. " I was very upset about you leaving me for Lorena. And you didn't tell me what you were doing, you just left. And then later ..it turned out you had met me under false pretenses…that hurt me so bad. We broke up…but we're still friends…kind of…" God this sounded bad. Why didn't I just lie and tell him Yes we're still together, why don't you doublecross Eric and not kill me please?

"You didn't answer my question," Bill commented. "I would never go back to my maker…"

Time for truthtelling. "You love me," I sighed. "You just do…you've never stopped even after all the mess we went through with Lorena. And I loved you too, that's why I went after you. I was so angry with you, but I had to save you. I just had to. "

"And did Lorena let me go?"

Oh dear. "Ah, no… when I was rescuing you….she attacked me and I …uh…I killed her."

The boat motor stopped entirely. "Lorena has met her final death?" Bill's voice was incredulous. "How is that possible? She is old and a ruthless killer. You could not possibly have killed her."

"I got lucky," I admitted. "She jumped me, I had a stake in my hand and she landed on it. It was winter time, so I dragged her body into the swimming pool on the property so no one would realize she was dead. Then I put you in the car and we got away."

"Very smart," Bill said. "And you are either very brave or very foolish."

"I guess you could flip a coin on that one."

A low chuckle erupted which I took as a good sign. "So, I was grateful? We got away together?"

Time for a little editing. I had Bill feeling all warm and fuzzy about us now. I didn't want to ruin it by telling him what he'd done to me in the trunk of the car afterward. "More or less, " I answered.

"You could be a psychic or a seer," Bill speculated. "Or maybe you just have a very good imagination. Tell me something else about the future that doesn't involve me." He thought he was going to catch me out on something.

Okay Sookie, let's just ruin the future of the entire WORLD shall we?

"Hitler is going to start a massive war, a world war. It's going to be even worse than the last one," I said somberly.

"You don't have to see the future to know a war is coming,"Bill said.

Well, smarty pants try this one on for size."In about forty years, an American named Neil Armstrong is going to walk on the moon. "

He literally gasped. "What?"

"NASA is going to shoot a rocket up into space, it's going to land on the moon, the astronauts are going to step out and walk around the moon," I explained, using scaling hand gestures to demonstrate.

"Who is NASA?" Bill asked.

I was losing patience and I wasn't as scared as I was angry now. "Come on Bill! What are you going to do? It's cold out here!"

Silence.

He started up the motor again. Unfortunately, he steered us into the darkness even further. "Bill! Bill? Please, you don't have to do this! Please?" You'd beg to if you thought you were going to die.

"I have pledged myself to Eric. Following orders is not an option. And if you'd spent as much time around vampires as you are claiming, you would know that."

"Bill please!" I cried. My voice was shaking and everything else. I had been so sure he was going to change his mind.

"I'm sorry Sookie, but I really have no choice."

Then, without any warning, he reached over, grabbed me like a bag of groceries and tossed me into the water.

"AH!" I yelled. I landed on my back in a backwards version of a belly flop and the dress clung to me, which made it hard to move. Pumps aren't made for swimming either. I thrashed around as the sound of the outboard motor disappeared quickly into the distance. "Bill! Please!" I yelled again, to no avail.

The water was COLD and it was so dark and disorienting. I momentarily thought about the movie Titanic and Kate Winslet out in the middle of the Atlantic with all those other poor people. I'm not a great swimmer and swimming in these clothes was hard. I was going to die just like all those people did.

I choked and sobbed as the brackish, black waters of the Cheasapeake Bay pulled me down.

TBC

_88888888888888888888888_

_next chaper: you don't really think I'm going to tell you that do you? *evil cackle* _

_BTW, there is something called Apple Pie Moonshine or Apple Pie Gin, you can google it. It's amazing how creative people can get when they're trying to become intoxicated. _


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